Dupage Policy Journal

DuPage County has been assigned a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, as announced by David Harris, the director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR). Known as the "multiplier," this factor is employed to ensure uniform property assessments across counties, a necessity due to the overlap of some of the state's 6,600 local taxing districts into multiple counties. These include school districts, junior college districts, and fire protection districts. Without equalization, taxpayers owning similar properties could face significant disparities.

State law mandates that property in Illinois be assessed at one-third of its market value, though farm properties have distinct assessment protocols. Farm homesites and dwellings are assessed under ordinary procedures, while farmland and buildings follow productivity-based standards.

To establish the equalization factor annually, the sales prices of individual properties over the previous three years are compared to their assessed values as determined by county assessors. If this three-year average assessment equals one-third of market value, the factor is set at 1.0000. Higher average assessments yield factors less than 1.0000, while lower averages result in factors above 1.0000.

Currently, DuPage County assessments stand at 33.36% of market value, derived from property sales in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The presently assigned factor is intended for taxes in 2024, payable in 2025. The previous year saw the county's equalization factor also at 1.0000.

Nevertheless, the tentative factor may be revised under certain conditions: significant actions by the County Board of Review impacting county assessments, or new data presented by local officials indicating a needed adjustment in IDOR's assessment estimates. A public hearing will occur 20-30 days post-publication in a county newspaper.

It's crucial to note that changes in the equalization factor do not directly affect total property tax bills, which are determined by local taxing bodies' annual funding requests. In cases where requested funds do not exceed last year's receipts, property taxes remain unchanged despite potential assessment increases.

An individual property's assessed value dictates its share of tax responsibility, which remains unaffected by the multiplier.