Kadner: Property tax bill defeated but fight isn’t over

• Reprints

Illinois Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo)

Updated: December 14, 2011 8:24AM

The fight to stop property tax bills from increasing as property values decline is not over.

State Rep. Jack Franks (D-63rd) said Friday he will reintroduce legislation in January to give homeowners relief.

His bill to freeze property tax levies in communities where assessed values decline was resoundingly defeated 73 to 34 in the Illinois House last week, but Franks said he’s committed to bringing fairness to the process.

“It was killed largely by the efforts of the school districts and some fire organizations joined in,” Franks said.

“People are reeling from property tax increases. The day the vote was held a story came out saying 46 percent of Chicago-area homeowners with mortgages were under water.

“This problem isn’t going to go away. And I’m going to come back in January and try to get something passed.”

Franks said if he can’t get enough lawmakers to go along with statewide property tax reform, he may consider trying to pass a law creating a pilot program in McHenry County, which he represents.

“If the other legislators would like me to include their counties in the bill I will, but if they don’t that’s fine too,” he said.

Franks acknowledges the system of funding public schools in Illinois is unfair and inadequate.

“Almost all of our financial problems in Illinois stem from the way we fund the schools and the state’s refusal to pay into the teachers’ pension system on a timely basis,” Franks said.

The state government has failed for more than 20 years to adequately fund public education, placing the burden on property owners.

While the system has always rewarded property-rich school districts and penalized those that were poor, it is now putting an additional stress on a fragile housing market.

And the fact is most people simply don’t understand how their property tax bill can increase $400, $500, $600 a year or more when their property value has declined nearly 30 percent.

It’s all about tax levies, set by local governments (school districts, fire districts, library districts and municipalities) “and most people really don’t understand how that works,” Franks said.

“Maybe we should pass a law requiring governments to announce a meeting to increase homeowners’ taxes instead of letting them call it by some other name.”

I have long been an advocate of taxes to support public services, especially public education.

I often ridicule elected officials who run for office contending they’re opposed to tax increases, or will force tax cuts, because they never get specific on what programs they would cut if elected.

Most of them are hypocrites.

The vote on Franks’ HB 3793 provides evidence of that.

Most of the anti-tax Republicans in Illinois refused to support freezing the property taxes on homeowners.

Republican Majority Leader Tom Cross voted “present,” a gutless maneuver.

State Rep. Renee Kosel (R-New Lenox) voted against the bill.

Republicans from New Trier Township, which has some of the highest-spending school districts in Illinois, voted against the zero-increase tax bill as well.

These are the same folks who always claim that throwing money at the schools won’t make them better. What they really mean is that giving money to your kids for a quality education isn’t going to help their kids.

The Democrats were split, even among local representatives.

Democratic Reps. William Cunningham (Chicago), Kelly Burke (Evergreen Park), Mary Flowers (Chicago) and Robert Rita (Blue Island) voted for the measure.

Reps. Monique Davis (Chicago), Will Davis (Hazel Crest), Al Riley (Olympia Fields), Thaddeus Jones (Dolton) and Kevin McCarthy (Orland Park) — all Democrats — voted against it. State Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights) voted “present.”

House Speaker Michael Madigan voted for freezing tax levies when property values in a community decline.

There are valid arguments to be made against freezing property tax levies.

Local government would have to cut programs. School districts might have to renegotiate teacher contracts or cut payroll.

But the fact is that more and more people are having a difficult time making their mortgage payments.

Taxing property makes no sense because it has no real value unless you sell your home.

The system forces the middle class and the working poor to pay a disproportionate share of the tax burden.

And people simply don’t understand the property tax process, which is designed to confuse them.

That’s the way your lawmakers like it.