Dupage Policy Journal

Republican House candidate Jay Kinzler believes a property tax increase presented by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago as a way to eliminate the state’s pension debt would only make matters worse for Illinois.

“The property tax increase being proposed will only cause more pain to residents who already can’t afford these sky-high taxes,” Kinzler told the DuPage Policy Journal. “It will only mean more people leaving Illinois, which will make it even more difficult to have enough revenue for the state.”

The proposal would raise property taxes by nearly 50 percent over the next 30 years, which would devastate homeowners, Kinzler said.

Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park)

“The tax will instantly devalue everyone’s home value,” he said. “With home values going down and property taxes going up, the nest egg that is most people’s home would instantly be worth less than what it might otherwise be.”

The proposed property tax increase would raise annual taxes on a home valued at $500,000 by roughly $5,000, the DuPage Policy Journal previously reported. That revenue, accrued over a 30-year period, would be more than enough to erase the state’s growing pension debt, according to economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Running against Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) in the 46th District, Kinzler views the plan as part of the same flawed logic that put the state on its current path, he said.

“These bureaucrats in Springfield are only proposing this because of the outrageous promises they’ve made and are still on the hook for with pensions,” Kinzler said. “They’re punishing homeowners for all their past mistakes. Residents already pay enough in taxes. Our problem is not a revenue problem; what we have is a spending problem.”

At 2.67 percent of a home’s value, Illinois homeowners already pay the highest property tax rates in the country, the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) states.

Taxpayers are already at their breaking point and the latest proposed increases could be the final straw for many residents, Kinzler said.

“You have to remember, we just had the 32-percent income tax hike that my opponent supported,” he said. “Producers in this state are on the verge of leaving in droves, taking their talents, investments and businesses with them.”

The state’s latest proposed taxing spree might not end there, as several counties — Ford, Lake, Will, Kane and Frankfort — will include a 1-percent sales tax referendum on the November ballot.

Will County has set aside most of the additional revenue for local school districts, more than a dozen of which have already attached themselves to the referendum. The increase would be on par with Chicago’s 10.25-percent tax burden, according to IPI.

In Frankfort, the sales tax rate would jump from 7 percent to 8 percent.

“I’m opposed to any sales tax increase being proposed in any county in Illinois,” Kinzler said. “Again, revenue is not the problem.”

The 46th House District includes all or parts of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Lombard and Villa Park.