Kadner: Property tax freeze bill sails out of state House

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Updated: March 23, 2012 8:15AM

A bill that would freeze property tax levies during years when property values decline overwhelmingly passed the Illinois House of Representatives on Tuesday.

I first wrote about the proposal, from state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo), to freeze property taxes last year.

Although that effort failed, Franks vowed the fight wasn’t over.

“It passed this year because I didn’t seek any publicity before the vote,” Franks said.

“Last year, I thought I could rally public support by talking about the bill. It turned out that gave the opposition, the government taxing bodies, time to lobby legislators to vote against it.

“This time I just put an amendment onto an existing bill, the groups that lobbied against it didn’t have time to rally opposition, and it received 74 votes (the final tally was 74 “yes” and 39 “no.”)

Under the measure, if the “total equalized assessed value of all taxable property in a tax district for the current levy year is less than the total equalized assessed value of all taxable property in the taxing district for the previous year, then the extension limitation is a) 0 percent or b) the “rate of increase approved by voters in a referendum.

Franks emphasized that taxing districts wouldn’t lose money.

“They would get the same amount of money they received the previous year, but could not increase their tax levy unless voters approved a tax rate increase in a referendum.”

The Illinois Municipal League and organizations representing local school districts opposed the legislation in the past, contending it would not allow them to fulfill financial commitments to employee unions, pension programs and cover cost-of-living increases.

“They have to realize that people are unemployed,” Franks said. “People have seen their wages frozen or taken pay cuts.

“They’ve been hit with a 67 percent state income tax increase and increasing prices for gas, milk and all sorts of consumer items.

“And they’ve seen their property values decrease.

“It’s just not fair to hit people with a property tax increase on top of all of that.”

There is an existing law, the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, passed in 1991, that caps tax levy increases at 5 percent or the consumer price index increase, whichever is less in any given year.

That law was intended to stop local governments from grabbing windfall revenue when property values were booming in the 1990s.

But it hasn’t stopped property taxes from increasing in years when property values have declined.

I supported the Franks bill last year but have some reservations about the measure now.

Gov. Pat Quinn, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton all have talked about shifting the state’s obligation for funding teacher pensions onto local school districts.

To pass that kind of cost onto school districts and also freeze the tax base would be unconscionable.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Franks said of the pension funding shift. “That’s just a lot of talk. There’s no support for that down here (in Springfield).”

Franks said Madigan did support his tax freeze legislation and that the speaker’s backing was a key to passing the bill.

“And we’re a month away from a primary election, and the people running for re-election have been going door to door and hearing it from taxpayers,” Franks said.

“I think they want to go home and give their voters some good news before the election.”

The bill now goes to the Senate, and Franks said he had not spoken to Cullerton about the measure.

“But given the support it had in the House, I don’t see how the Senate could vote against it,” Franks said.

Despite his optimism, those government lobbying organizations will be putting on a full-court press to stop this legislation.

Most lawmakers have personal relationships with their mayors and school board members.

Firefighters, teachers and police unions, who rely on government funding for their salaries, also will likely lobby against the tax freeze and they’ve proven they can rally voter support on Election Day.

“This is simply the right thing to do,” Franks said.

“Local government bodies have to learn to live within their means. If they can justify a tax increase, they can still go to their voters and ask them to support a referendum.”

I can hear mayors and school officials saying, “We have to live within our means, but the state gets a 67 percent tax hike and still has billions of dollars in unpaid bills.”

I think that’s a fair criticism, but two wrongs don’t make a right.

People are being taxed out of their homes.

That has to stop. And if the state doesn’t put on the brakes, no one else is going to do it.