Dupage Policy Journal

State Sen. Suzy Glowiak (D-Western Springs) was among a group of DuPage County lawmakers who voted no on a proposal hailed as a step toward ending “systemic conflicts of interest in the Illinois property tax system,” as stated in a Republication legislator's press release.

Glowiak joined Sen. Tom Cullerton (Villa Park), Rep. Terra Costa Howard (Glen Ellyn), Rep. Karina Villa (West Chicago) and Rep. Diane Pappas (Itasca) as Democrat lawmakers from DuPage County rejecting Rep. Deanne Mazzochi’s (R-Elmhurst) proposal of studying the issue that was put before a task force for the same purpose. The naysayers included a lawmaker now facing a federal indictment for corruption (Cullerton) and several others thought to profit from the currently uneven property tax system.

In the aftermath, Mazzochi said in a press release that “it is absurd to suggest we can’t have a subcommittee to target conflicts of interest that both sides of the aisle know exist. Today’s vote demonstrates that members of the majority are insincere about real reform. If this task force wants to achieve meaningful reform, we must address the problem of high-level political insiders who game the system, whether at the state, county or local level.”

Illinois State House Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst)

Despite the setback, Mazzochi has vowed to fight on in the name of greater transparency and a more-equitable system.

“Illinois residents already pay among the highest property taxes in the nation,” she said in the release. “They don’t need an added corruption tax. The antics on display at the meeting are the exact reason why we do not have property tax relief today.”