Dupage Policy Journal

The “Workers' Rights Amendment” will be on the ballot for Illinoisans on the Nov. 8 general election, and not everyone's happy.

“5% levy increases coming,” Jeanne Ives, a former Republican state representative, wrote on Facebook.

Also known as the “Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution” — that’s how it’ll appear on the ballot — its goal is to give government workers the “fundamental right” to unionize and bargain. However, Illinois Policy reported it will also increase property taxes over the next four years.

In 1991, Illinois instituted a cap on property taxes, prohibiting local governments from raising property taxes by more than either 5% or the rate of inflation — whichever number is lower, Stand and Be reported. In the years since then, the inflation rate has averaged 2.2%, and it has only been higher than 4% once, in 2008.

It has never been higher than 5% until this year, with the inflation rate from December 2020 to December 2021 standing at 7%. Due to this rise in inflation, local governments will have the option to increase property taxes by as much as 5%, which would apply to the taxes paid in 2023.

Ballotpedia News reported the amendment also ensures no laws will be passed that interferes with government employee’s right to organize and bargain.

A property tax hike of 5% would result in more than one billion additional dollars paid in taxes across the state, according to Stand and Be.

“We don’t know what the taxing bodies are going to ask for, but we assume they’ll ask for the max,” John Dabrowski, Bloomingdale Township’s assessor, said. “We don’t have a crystal ball, but what I can say will happen if everyone takes that 5%, our phones will be blowing up. That I can say.” 

Local governments collected $33.8 billion in property tax revenue in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

The Illinois Department of Revenue explained school districts have the largest share of the state’s property tax dollar.

Illinois’ property tax rate is the second highest in the nation at 2.27%, behind only New Jersey, according to a June report by Rocket Mortgage. The owner of a $194,500 home in Illinois pays $4,942 annually in property taxes. 30 states have property tax rates lower than 1%.

Illinois Policy noted that while advertisements in favor for the amendment say it’ll create jobs, the publication noted that’s unclear.

A March report by WalletHub found that Illinois has the tenth overall highest tax burden in the nation at 9.7%. The report weighed property taxes, income taxes, and sales and excise taxes.