A History of Property Taxes in Illinois

The 1800’s
The ability to tax property in Illinois was included in the State of Illinois’ first constitution in 1818. The Illinois constitution of 1818 was unique in that it established: “…That the mode of levying a tax shall be by valuation so that every person shall pay a property tax in proportion to the value of the property he or she has in his or her possession.” Basically, this established an “ad valorem” tax, which in Latin means “according to value”. Thus, an ad valorem tax is a tax that varies with the value of the property. All property, personal and real, was taxed under this system.

When property tax began, land (and improvements) was the primary form of wealth, so it was much nearer to being a duty on prosperity than it is today. Many of the other federal taxes, such as taxes on electrical energy and telephone calls were for nominal amounts and often unknown to consumers.

Property taxes, on the other hand, required taxpayers to make an unequivocal tax payment of considerable size from which the taxpayer could not avoid without losing what was often their most significant piece of property and wealth.

Originally property taxes were collected and used only by the State government. The first significant change in property taxes came in 1839, when growth and political pressure broadened the definition of taxable property, narrowed the scope of exemptions, and identified personal property subject to taxation. In addition, counties were provided the ability to tax personal property.

The Revenue Code of 1853, also allowed for taxation by townships, eliminated double taxation, included stocks and bonds in the tax base, and established a system of utilizing local assessors and created oaths for assessors mandating true and accurate assessments at true full value in money. A State Board of Equalization was established in 1867 and additional provisions concerning assessment practices were established in the Illinois Constitution of 1870.

The 1900’s
The property tax system remained fundamentally the same until the Depression of the 1930’s. The first basic change came with the collapse of personal income during the Depression. The State last levied a property tax in 1932 and replaced the loss in revenue with a State sales tax the next year. Local governments continued to levy and collect tax on property as their main source of revenue. This transition was brought about in large part due to a loose knit but national property taxpayer revolt.

Chicago assumed a leadership role in this revolt. Its citizens, enraged over corrupt practices in property tax assessments discovered before the Depression, and stressed in their ability to pay the toll joined together and refused to pay taxes.

An amendment to the 1870 Constitution, following the passage of the Illinois Income Tax of 1968, eliminated taxes on personal property for individuals and as provided by the 1970 Constitution, corporate personal property taxes were eliminated in 1979. They were replaced by a corporate income tax and a tax on the invested capital of public utilities.

Over time many local governmental units also reduced their reliance on the property tax share in total revenue as they increased user fees, licensing fees and local sales taxes. Dependence on state and federal aid also increased.

But in the 1950s and 1960s the role of property tax expanded dramatically at the local level as it became the major source of school funding during a period when education spending was increasing to meet the demands of the baby boomers.

Later in the 1970’s, due to inflation, prices of homes accelerated faster than other types of property. As a result, residential homes comprised a large proportion of the total assessed value of real property in Illinois. The State then enacted homestead exemptions for owner occupied residential properties, and in Cook County allowed for the institution of a system of property classification.

By the 1980's the baby boomers had passed through the public school system. Rural communities began losing their schools due to declining or stagnating population and tax bases. Property values would often decline with the loss of schools. Rising property values in the large cities led to suburban sprawl as parents became willing to commute to work in exchange for lower housing costs and better funded schools. Property tax rates are usually lower in urban cities but the out-of-pocket taxes are generally higher than in rural communities with lower property values. Moving to adjacent communities meant bigger homes for less money and even if taxed at a higher rate they felt their children received a bigger bang, in terms of quality education, for their property tax dollars.

Soon the rural school districts began crying foul because of the mounting funding inequities. State governments, including Illinois, tried to balance the gap by reducing the amount of state aid to the wealthier (in property value) school districts.

The state governments simply could not keep up with the rate property taxes was increasing. The percentage of overall school revenues from the state dwindled lower and lower.

Because funding inequities exist both within and between states and because many rural communities felt shortchanged by legislators their arguments were brought to the courts. After all, doesn’t the Constitution guaranty equal rights for education?

In 1981, the State changed the basis of assessing farmland from that of the actual market value of the land to the farmland’s agricultural economic value. Basically, the land was valued at its’ ability to produce, which was based upon its’ soil type, drainage and other agricultural economic factors. The need for this change was due to the conversion of farmland for development, which was artificially inflating the value of the land and placing an unfair tax burden on the owners of land still being used for strictly agricultural purposes.

In 1991, the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) provided that non-home rule taxing districts in the collar counties were restricted from increasing property tax extensions by more than 5% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less, when property values and assessments increase at a rate that exceeds the rate of inflation. As of 2000, 34 counties were subject to PTELL.

We are funding increases every year on a system built for a babyboomer "surge" which ended long ago, simply because it's perceived as easy to tax property!

The 2000’s
Finally, in 2004, Public Act 93-715 amends the tax code to provide a residential property tax assessment cap and a variety of increased exemptions. The new law provides that counties may opt to provide a 7% cap on assessment increases on owner-occupied residential property up to a total of $20,000 in assessed valuation. The Homestead Exemption for owner-occupied residential property was increased to $5,000 statewide. The Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption was increased to $3,000 statewide and removes the requirement (except for Cook County) for the homeowner to annually re-apply for the exemption. The Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Exemption income threshold was increased from $40,000 to $45,000 statewide. The Homestead Improvement Exemption limit was increased from $45,000 in improvements to $75,000 in improvements.

Who Collects and Uses Property Tax?
Since 1932, Illinois does not have a State property tax. Local government taxing bodies, such as counties, cities, townships, schools, park districts, fire districts, library districts and hospitals, administer and use property tax revenues. Illinois has more local taxing districts than any other state. There are over 6,000 such local taxing bodies.

According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the following is a breakdown of property tax extensions in Illinois for the year 2000:

Taxing Body % of Total Revenue ($ in millions)
Schools 58.0% $9,271
Cities 12.7% $2,021
Counties 8.9% $1,420
Parks 4.2% $ 673
Community Colleges 3.9% $ 624
Townships 2.7% $ 436
TIF Districts 2.7% $ 430
Other Special Districts 4.4% $ 708

Who Pays Property Tax?
Basically anyone who owns real property in Illinois pays property tax. There are a number of exemptions, which include, The United States, the State of Illinois, schools, religious institutions, most charitable organizations and governmental subdivisions. According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the following is a breakdown of who pays property taxes:

Property Type % of Total
Residential 55.61%
Commercial 27.76%
Industrial 12.28%
Farm 3.89%
Railroads .40%

It is generally recognized that any tax should have a basis in an "ability to pay". The property tax has little or no relationship to "ability to pay".

Real estate ownership is a measurement of wealth as an asset. It is also a primary source of debt for most homeowners. Failure to pay property tax, voluntary or involuntary, results in the loss of all money invested. A decline in income due to loss of job or spouse can result in the loss of a home for someone who cannot afford their property tax bill.

Rising property values increases long term wealth and shorter term borrowing power. It can also increase out-of-pocket property taxes even if taxing bodies reduce their tax rate. The damaging results are families and seniors stressed to meet housing costs in mortgages, rents and taxes.

One reason school officials are reluctant to their funding shifting from property tax to income tax is that the former offers a much more stable source of revenue than the latter. What is good for the goose is a burden to the gander.

Perhaps those who truly want education finance reform would be served well by studying the tax revolts of the 1930s.

Sources and additional resources:
• Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission
Property Taxes in Illinois, January 2001 Update
http://www.ilga.gov/commission/cgfa/cgfa_home.html

• Illinois Department of Revenue
A General Guide to the Local Property Tax Cycle
http://www.revenue.state.il.us/Publications/LocalGovernment/PTAX1004.pdf

• Illinois Association of Realtors® & Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois
Practical Guide to Illinois Property Taxes, 2004 Edition
http://www.taxpayfedil.org/

"A Child Is Missing" emergency call system

We have a few reservations about the program, however, if you'd like to enter your cell phone or unlisted landline phone number into the "A Child Is Missing" database for the Woodford County Sheriff, go to the website: http://www.achildismissing.org/.

They claim your numbers will remain confidential and only be used for the emergency call system.

Property Tax House of Cards

The Kankakee Daily Journal has an insightful piece on Taxing Authorities' definitions problems.

Take a moment to read the article and then come back here and read the rest of this post.

We don't want to glaze anyone's eyes with figures and percentages. The point is to note that government has a habit of shifting definitions and parameters so it can claim almost anything it wants.

How much money do we owe? In the now famous Clintonian logic, it all depends upon what the meaning of the word 'owe' is, how you define "money," and "we". It's called dissemination (no pun intended whatsoever) and it's been around as long as there's been a public purse to be filled. In reality, there is very little clarity about Woodford County's long-term economic plans -- beyond announcing tax "cuts" sometimes before the next election.

What do we want to see? We want to see a long-term plan for keeping Woodford County financially sound for future generations. Paying for infrastructure and services is important. So is tax fairness. But we've never been one -- and we believe this has never been a county -- that believes in tax cuts at any cost. Equally important is government investment in the county's social fabric, research and development, and public infrastructure.

New terms, calculations, or definitions rarely illuminate government intentions; more often they obscure it. It's a smoke-and-mirrors approach, when what's needed most with taxpayers' money is clarity and transparency.

Eureka Library Asks for $391,000 for 6,250 residents

The Eureka, Illinois Public Library Property Tax Extension request for this year amounts to $ 391, 000 and change. The request is for an additional $18,000.

The library serves some 6,250 residents according to their website. The request is about, what, not quite 63 bucks for every man, woman, and child. That, of course, is just the tax request. We don't know what their budgeted expenses are per "potential customer".

Break down the cost per actual unique library "user", and now you're talking real money.

But we digress - the levy request represents a 5% increase over the prior year.

Do your own cost/benefit analysis - we don't presume to do that for you.

Illinois Central College Wants Another $885 Thousand

Our sources indicate that the requested Illinois Central College Property Tax Extension levy for this year is $ 26.773 millions. This is an increase over last year of about $ 885,000.

This would seem to represent a 3.5% increase.

Now we just need to know where that's going. The tax rate is just a tad less for this year at $4.36 per $1,000 assessed valuation if our mental math is correct.

You will notice that you haven't seen this in any of the News Media - at least we didn't.

No word yet on what the latest concrete pouring or what sending those kids and staff to China cost.

If you fall in the I.C.C. taxing district check out what you are paying versus other items on your bill such as your local fire protection, roads, etc. We find that it is out of line in terms of cost benefit, especially for those on limited or fixed income. You might want to call one of your trustees and express your opinion.

By the way, if our information is correct, tuition went up over 15% last year from $65 per semester hour to $75. This amounts to $150+ per full time student.

Extreme MakeOver: School Choice Edition

Why can't we fund the student instead of the educational bureaucracy? Lidia Downs of the Family Taxpayers Foundation in a current editorial letter brings the bony finger of indignation to bear on the Illinois legislature and Illinois Education:

The fact is that public schools are like other monopolies - they squander money.

Their newest ploy is this so-called “tax swap” which would raise both individual and corporate state income taxes by 67% in exchange for a promise of temporary property tax relief, which they can’t guarantee. Under this bill, 6¼ % sales tax would also get applied to such services as movie tickets, hair salons, parking, golf courses, car repairs and more. The result would be about $6 billion more for state government, plus less local control of our schools. A better name for this bill would be a “tax swindle!”

The real test for state leaders AND for education bureaucrats is to find solutions like charter schools, virtual schools, and opportunity scholarships, that have actually been proven to result in vastly improved academic achievement. It’s time we funded the student instead of the system.

Jump cut to another excellent analysis of why some "vouchers" are bad and some are very good according to anti-school choice folks.

When is a voucher not a voucher? When is is for college! The Heritage Foundation's Dan Lips
points out:

When the scholarship is for higher education, rather than for elementary, junior, or high school. Pell Grants, the G.I. Bill, and Hope Scholarships--all essentially vouchers--earn wholehearted support from liberals who demonize "vouchers."

Pell Grants, the G.I. Bill, "Lifetime Learning" tax credits, and college scholarships are all school choice initiatives. Why is ok for some age students and not for others?

President Clinton embodies Democrats' strange position on school vouchers. In 1998, he vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have provided school vouchers to 2,000 low-income children in Washington, D.C., calling the plan "fundamentally misguided." But just a year earlier, he signed a tax package that included the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits. At the time, those tax subsidies were projected to help 13 million Americans enroll in a postsecondary institution of their choice after high school.

Mr. Lips continues,

There is no magic reform proposal that will fix all of the failures of our K-12 system. That’s why it's important to shift the focus from the system to the student. Students have diverse needs, and there are many schools that could meet those needs, including private schools.

That's why school choice programs, including vouchers, hold great promise and promote equal opportunity. Like Pell grants, existing school voucher programs in Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Washington, D.C., are structured to give disadvantaged families the same opportunity that more affluent families already have -- the ability to enroll their children in safe and high quality schools.

Say no to the "Tax Swipe" and yes to school choice. Let's fund the kids and not the system.

The Ethanol's coming, The Ethanol's coming!

The Daily Pantagraph reports Greg Jackson and Kyle Ham believe at least one ethanol production facility is in Woodford County's near future.

The interests here in the County being what they are we seriously doubt that there will be much media coverage of some of the rather unpleasant facts attending the ethanol boom. That leaves us with the job and placing the bulls-eye directly on our back.

First off, if ethanol is a way to fight foreign oil dependence, why the heck is there a tariff on Brazilian ethanol and not on Saudi oil? Just a question.

Alright then, let's see 4 up to 70 jobs created! (We wonder if that range could be pinned down a bit better.) Higher prices for grain! Higher property values! Decreased dependence on oil!

The first person to say it's "win-win" may just get slapped.

Let's take the last first. Without going nuts on the numbers, suffice it to say they just don't add up. According to the USDA's latest figures the fossil fuel input is almost equal to the ethanol output! On top of this, of course are the huge corn subsidies, the 51 cent per gallon direct subsidy (not the net ethanol, but rather the gross which is mostly recycled fossil fuels). Granted - there are huge oil and gas subsidies as well. That's worked out real well for us, hasn't it?

Now for no extra charge, you get huge demands on water tables and higher food prices with reduced corn exports. This is all presumably to replace a minuscule percentage of our national oil and gas consumption.

That's not to say this would not be good to some farmers, ethanol producers, and ag conglomerates because it will. Perhaps there even would be a financial windfall for the County Government.

Most commodities folks we know say if you haven't already invested in your ethanol plant, you probably shouldn't, because corn-based ethanol will only last 5 years or so and then the plants will be converted to other biomass like grass, cellulose, etc.

At any rate - here's the uncomfortable question:

Why on earth would we want to turn agriculture on its head in this way for what all the world looks to be a short term profit? Why have we embarked on such a dangerous public policy initiative? Every time the government gets involved in the markets it mucks them up.

We realize that Woodford County is going to ride this wave. We just hope the local effects justify the state and national policies, and no one falls off the surf board.

Woodford County Journal Nails the "Tax Swipe", ehh "Swap"

The Woodford County Journal today hits one completely out of the park with its editorial entitled, "Tax Swap Plan Needs To Stay Shelved".

Our compliments to the staff over there, and we hope they won't sue us for linking to a photocopy of the piece. In fact, run out and buy a copy of the paper, just to be safe.

The proponents of the Big Swipe feel they have momentum but we're not so sure the folks won't rise up when they see what is really going on, who's behind it, and what is at stake.

We particularly enjoy the passage which fearlessly states:

"It is easy to point to increased property taxes as arguments for a funding crisis. It is more logical, however, to address the increasing spending - on transportation, utilities and especially salaries and benefits - to see the money feeds a proverbial elephant growing in the living room . . . most of the money won't go to educate children, it will go to pay for past (and we dare say, future) poor choices at the state level"

The emphases, as always, are our own.

Peoria Journal Star Stands Up (heh, heh)

In another hard hitting editorial, the Peoria Journal Star has called on the newly elected County Board Chairmen of Woodford and Tazwell Counties to "mend fences". Such sage advice can only be ignored at the Counties' peril.

This courageous stand is best illustrated by the final line of the piece:

"Whatever hatchets are out there, residents of both counties will be best served if those they elected bury them."

With a solid policy compass like this is it any wonder our Board depends so heavily on the paper's opinion for direction?

The editorial board did manage to get in the obligatory Woodford County dig, though:

"He's [Tazwell Board Chairman Prather] lucky to have a bipartisan board, if Woodford is any indication. Stable finances should help, too."

We sure hope their jobs are safe over there at the paper with the announcement of their imminent sale. We hear David Geffen is ready to pony up $2 Billion for the L.A. Times. Maybe he'd like the PJS as well. We'd miss those nuts.

PTELL machinations, games, and other "fun"

Two very interesting articles for your consideration popped up in the Illinois print media the last couple of days. One is from the Pontiac Daily Leader and deals with Pontiac Township High School District's new levy. The other is from Journal Gazette reporting on Matoon's School District and their new levy rate.

The articles are instructive about how some taxing authorities feel regarding the concept of capped spending.

The district [Pontiac] is "asking for almost every single penny we can," the board of education heard in a review of the 2006 levy by Amy Smith, director of the Livingston Area Vocational Center, who worked on preparing it. The district "will not see a lot of extra money" because of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL), or tax caps, she said. The increase in EAV means the district can levy about $77,000 more than in 2005; without being limited by PTELL, the board could have levied $240,000 to $250,000 more than in 2005, Smith estimated.

In other words, PTELL prevented them from spending another $170, 000 - darn it! Even more astounding is the attitude reflected here, and unusual in it's frankness:

. . . board President Scott Bauknecht . . . added that, in the future, the board will have to ask voters for a tax-rate increase in a referendum.

Superintendent Harlen "Butch" Cotter reminded the current board members that past boards also tried to keep the overall tax rate down, and resisted taking some actions, such as selling bonds, to get the tax rate up, before PTELL became effective in Livingston County, for taxes levied in 2000. PTELL allows a taxing district to receive an increase in tax extensions on existing property, plus an additional amount for new construction. The increase on existing property from one year to the next is limited to 5 percent or the national consumer price index, whichever is less. The CPI for 2006 levies will be 3.4 percent.

"We made that call years ago, said Bauknecht, who was on the board when voters in the county approved PTELL in 1999, noted after Cotter's comment. The hope of past boards was that when the district needed a higher tax rate, voters would give it to the board, Bauknecht added.

So they didn't inflate their needs before PTELL as so many taxing authorities did. They did the right thing counting on asking the taxpayers for money if they needed it. The taxpayers have said no. Now they're looking on this as a mistake and are listening to advice to circumvent what the wishes of the taxpayers seem to indicate. More of the same comes from Mattoon:

MATTOON -- A request for about $11 million in property tax revenue drew mixed reactions from school board members and residents alike, with supporters of the 2007-08 tax levy ultimately prevailing during a standing-room-only meeting Tuesday.

Opponents of the 6-percent total increase -- what officials said the district can expect in property taxes -- said it defies the intentions of local residents who overwhelmingly passed the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) four years ago to curb tax hikes.

. . . Administrators said they are not trying to circumvent the requirements or “spirit” of PTELL, because this law does not apply to the property tax revenue sought to repay the money borrowed for Mattoon’s two new elementary schools.

Not including the funds for paying these bonds, the new request for tax revenue is higher than last year’s by 3.4 percent, which effectively is the cap imposed by PTELL. This figure also accounts for the estimated taxable value of land in the district, said administrators.

. . . board Vice President Charles Young said . . . “Ask the people for the money, rather than finding ways to just take it,” Young said Tuesday. “When we find ways to maneuver around PTELL, we risk ruining (the public’s) trust.”

Ahh, that last seems somewhat sane.

If the School Administrations and School Boards would concentrate as hard on holding the line on spending as they do on worrying about "tax caps" and how to get around asking for money we could begin to make some real progress in taxation.

I think my favorite snippet is from the Gazette:

Superintendent Larry Lilly said . . . “If we don’t approve the levy that’s presented, we’re going to have to take a hard look at (reducing) people and programs.”

This, of course, is the over used threat that's supposed to scare taxpayers with children and families of school employees.

We fall into both categories and we say, "REDUCE AWAY! ! ! You can start with pensions and benefits!"

Support Wind, Feel Good - Burn Money!

We suppose you'd get just as much and generate a little heat for your own home this winter if you'd just take a match to some cash, but if you'd rather, you can give it to Renewable Choice Energy in Colorado.

They're unselfishly providing regular consumers with the opportunity to buy "Wind Power Cards". Renewable Choice Energy is big into selling "renewable energy credits" to businesses and government entities. With the Wind Power Card regular folks can get in on the game.

There's only one slight problem. The card doesn't give you any energy, or credits, or anything else. It is magnetized so you can stick it on your fridge, but that's about it. We guess the "credit" they're selling you is credit for being dumb. The money just goes into the Renewable Choice Energy coffers.

But you can feel good about helping "the environment"?! Sometimes we just shake our heads.
Pretty clever if you can get away with it.

Test Scores Behind - Way Behind; No Child Left Behind

Fran Eaton over at the Illinois Review sheds some light on the long overdue No Child Left Behind test scores annual report due last October from the State Board of Education. They're now not expected to be public until February!

. . . the scores are horrendous. They indicate five years of failure for numerous schools and school districts. The failures will be found in heavy minority areas.

The fifth year of the NCLB assessments are crucial. If a school has failed for five years, it will be forced by federal law to reconstruct. Some south suburban school boards are already in the process, fully aware the bad news is coming.

But here's the real stickler, and something conservatives have consistently overlooked while screaming about the NCLB's perceived federal takeover of education: After five years of school failure, a district must offer choice to the parents. If, as in the case of south suburban Hazelcrest, there are no schools within the district that meet the testing critieria threshold, choice outside of the district must be offered.

Now, perhaps, we can see why the test scores aren't available for public evaluation?

Where's the outrage -- from both parents and taxpayers looking for accountability for their tax dollars? Accountability means doing something when you discover failure, doesn't it?

We can think of nothing to add to that other than the emphasese which are ours as always.

New Woodford Board to grow SOD?

The Pantagraph reported on Woodford County's new Board Chairman and the face of the newly seated Board. Nothing too earth shattering there.

Of interest is a new "Long Term Plan" for the County quite unfortunately named "Shape Our Destiny 2025". Who came up with that? The acronym would be S.O.D. Perhaps that needs a little tweaking.

On a serious note we sincerely hope that SOD isn't a cloak for super-zoning ordinances, super-Board Committees, and an attempt at "New Urbanism". We're all for looking ahead, you know - who are we, where are we, how did we get here, where are we going, blah, blah, blah - strategic planning 101. It just makes our wallets tingle when we see consultants and architects and "public input" meetings. When we first hear mention of "sprawl" we will lock the wallets in the safe deposit box at the bank.

Zsa-Zsa TABOR, daahling . . .

Finally someone is talking about not just PTELL, but the real root of Illinois' problem - spending! Spending needs to be capped!

Read about it here:

The Daily Journal

Chicago Business Group calls for taxes, but no "Swipe", erhh . . . "Swap"

The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES has an article in which a group of business folks call for tax increases. Yep, that's right. The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago feel Illinois is in such a mess that the only way out is for some type of income tax increase and closure of sales tax loopholes.

Thankfully, they also firmly and loudly decry the current "Tax Swipe" erhh "Tax Swap", the raising of income and sales tax in exchange for cutting property taxes, as a school funding mechanism, albeit for the wrong reason. They simply feel property taxes are more "stable" as a source of school income.

It also said no money from tax hikes should be used to launch new programs.

The Daily SouthTown actually has a better analysis here.

Both articles have what is (we assume) a typo. They state, "The report came out against a proposed "tax swap," raising property taxes in exchange for cutting income or sales taxes, as a school funding mechanism.".

They have that exactly backwards. It should read, "The report came out against a proposed "tax swap," raising income or sales taxes in exchange for cutting property taxes, as a school funding mechanism.

The SouthTown gets it right in its "sidebar", here.

Of course, not to be left out, here's the Blago Administration's spin on the story.

"All Kids" Illinois is Some Kids Illinois

The last numbers we heard on "All Kids" the as yet unfunded insurance (election campaign) program was enrollment of 28,000 with 16,000 of those illegal immigrants.

There are no residency requirements for this "program". While the numbers on illegals seems solid, there are also significant numbers enrolled who reside in Missouri (St. Louis and surrounding areas).

Obviously, we made a mistake when we claimed our U.S. citizenship and Illinois residency in the application process. The letter shown from the State of Illinois states without ceremony:

"We have decided that the children . . . you applied for cannot get All Kids Medical Benefits . . . Your declared family income is above the income standard"

So there seems to be (even though this is denied by State officials), an INCOME standard but no residency standard!

Only in the great state of Illinois that is confusion.

Rantoul Library May Have Over Extended on extending Extensions

It appears that the Rantoul Public Library's stealth mode on property tax extension increases has gone awry. The News Gazette turns its radar on:

Rantoul officials question tax increases for library

Apparently for five of the last six years, the Rantoul library has received more than the 5 percent maximum increase allowed under the PTELL (property tax cap) law which Champaign County lives under. And it has done all this without voter approval. The village is a Home Rule entity.

"The library has become a big black hole for the taxpayers," said Rantoul Village Board member Mike Graham. "They seem to think that money grows on trees."

Rantoul Library Board President Frances Biederman said she has no comment on the yearly tax increases.

Hmmm . . . why do we suspect pensions have something to do with this equation?

NEA at Work and Play

Once again the indispensable E.I.A online comes up with some good stuff on the NEA. A hat tip to Mike Antonucci and his excellent newsletter.

The National Education Association filed its 2006 U.S. Department of Labor financial disclosure report last Wednesday, and the document once again reveals the extent of NEA's involvement in liberal philanthropy, and advocacy. Among the $4.7 millions spent with organization links:

100% for Great Public Schools - $110,000

AIDS Responsibility Project - $5,000

Alliance for Justice - $10,000

America's Agenda - $50,000

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education - $16,500

Americans United to Protect Social Security - $250,000

Amnesty International - $5,000

Asian American Justice Center - $5,000

Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund - $5,000

Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies - $5,000

ASPIRA - $5,000

Baptist Center for Ethics - $20,000

Campaign for America's Future - $41,000

Center for Community Change - $25,000

Center for Innovative Policy - $125,000

Center for Law and Education - $50,000

Center for Policy Alternatives - $5,000

Center for Teaching Quality - $17,150

Center for Women Policy Studies - $5,000

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association - $52,500

Citizens Who Support Maine's Public Schools - $100,000

Committee for Education Funding - $16,182

Committee for Fair Elections - $100,000

Communities for Quality Education - $1.3 million

(formerly America Learns), an NEA front group created to advance the union's agenda on the No Child Left Behind Act)

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. - $56,800

Consortium for Educational Change - $11,900

Council of State Governments - $10,000

Democratic GAIN - $10,990

Democratic Leadership Council - $25,000

Economic Policy Institute - $208,474

Educational Impact Inc. - $40,000

Educational Testing Service - $42,266

Everybody Wins DC - $8,000

FairTest - $35,000

Faith and Politics Institute - $5,000

Funniest Celebrity in Washington - $20,000

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - $5,000

Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network - $5,000

Generations United - $30,000

Grassroots Democrats - $7,500

Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice - $250,000

Great Lakes Inter-tribal Council - $9,500

Harvard University Office for Sponsored Research - $50,000

HEROS Inc. - $79,890

Hispanic Press Foundation - $7,500

Home and School Institute - $45,131

Howard University School of Business - $5,000

Human Rights Campaign - $30,000

Institute for Women's Policy Research - $5,000

International Civil Rights Center - $15,000

Iowa Teaching and Learning Center - $17,000

Jobs with Justice - $10,120

Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies - $10,000

Latino Book and Family Festival - $6,000

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights - $13,000

League of United Latin American Citizens - $15,000

Learning First Alliance - $52,890

Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change - $5,000

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund - $10,000

NASA/PSTP - $12,500

National Alliance of Black School Educators - $5,000

National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education - $5,200

National Association for Bilingual Education - $5,000

NAFEA - $5,000

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund - $10,000

National Coalition of ESEA Title I Parents - $5,000

National Coalition on Health Care - $25,000

National Conference of Black Mayors - $5,000

National Conference of State Legislatures - $37,000

National Consumers League - $5,000

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education - $320,160

National Council of La Raza - $8,000

National Equity Center - $15,000

National Indian Education Association - $40,800

National Parent Teachers Association - $5,000

NTL Institute - $52,250

National Women's Law Center - $10,000

New Organizing Institute - $25,000

Organizations Concerned About Rural Education - $5,000

Organization of Chinese Americans - $5,000

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills - $45,000

People for the American Way - $160,805

Public Agenda - $32,351

Rainbow/PUSH Coalition - $5,000

Rebuild America's Schools - $10,000

Richard Ingersoll - $12,000

Ripon Society - $12,500

Southeast Center for Teaching Quality - $180,000

Southern Christian Leadership Conference - $11,450

Task Force Foundation - $10,000

United South and Eastern Tribes - $5,000

U.S. Action - $35,000

U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute - $15,000

WAND Education Fund - $12,000

Wellesley College Center for Research on Women - $10,295

How are we to take anything they say at face value? Does this even remotely resemble the organizations you support? Our teachers' dues which ultimately come from our property tax dollars are hard at work to solicit more tax dollars to provide more dues to be spent.

By the way, want your kid to join the NEA? They want them on their mailing list. Click on the picture above for a treat.

Woodford County Gets A Web Site!

No, seriously. Woodford County has a website!

I know we said that months ago, but we spent money on it. Lots of money.

Oh, well, no, it's not up yet . . . next April . . . yeah. It's gonna be great . . . there's gonna be transparency and stuff . . . accountability, and you know, e-commerce . . . and it's only gonna cost a couple a hundred a month to operate!

Woodford County has contracted with a Peoria firm to provide a web site and technological support - five months from now.

Hey, these things take time. LOTS of time; and money.

Even More On Hyper-Local (Township) Government

Transparency (peering through the wall of government) has more to do with just open meetings and published budgets. It also has to do with size and complexity.

John Ruberry over at Illinoize has a great blog on some of the insanity involving Illinois Township parcels.

If nothing else, it's nice to know the folks are thinking hard about this issue.

Missourans Snicker and Shake Their Heads

The St. Louis Post Dispatch has performed an analysis which finds that the Illinois General Assembly's current base salaries - you know, the ones that needed those fat raises, makes them the fifth highest-paid state lawmakers in the nation.

The only better-paid lawmakers — those in California, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania — all meet in session for more than half the year and are considered full-time legislative bodies.

Again, this is BEFORE the new raises!

Illinois legislators currently earn base salaries of $57,619, which is set to rise to $68,800 next year.

Missouri's base salary is $31,351.

Our legislators should also never consider moving to New Hampshire to take up politics as lawmakers there are in effect volunteers, getting $200 for their entire two-year terms, with no per diem.

School Fees Skyrocketing

School District "fees" have risen dramatically in Illinois for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that there is no "cap" on them and they're not subject to referendum. Here, for your hair-curling pleasure, are the top school busing fees in Illinois for "public" education:

RANK DISTRICT STUDENTS REQ. TO PAY* BUS FEE
1. Northfield 225 All who ride (1) $675 
2. Glencoe 35 All who ride (2) $650/500 
3. New Trier 203 All who ride $545 
4. Park Ridge 64 Under 1.5 miles $495 
5. North Shore 112 Under 1.5 miles $465 
6. Deerfield 109 Under 1.5 miles $454 
7. Avoca 37 Under 1.5 miles $425 
8. Valley View 365U Under 1.5 miles $400 
9. Wilmette 39 All who ride $395 
10. Des Plaines 62 Under 1.5 miles $384 
11. Schaumburg 54 Under 1.5 miles $375 
12. Lake Forest 67 All who ride $365 
13. Winnetka 36 All who ride $344 
14. East Maine 63 Under 1.5 miles $340 
15. Arlington Heights 25 Under 1.5 miles $340 
16. Mt. Prospect 57 Under 1.5 miles $325 
17. Kirby 140 Under 1.5 miles $320 
18. Palatine 15 Under 1.5 miles $310 
19. Lake Forest 115 All who ride $310 
20. Addison 4 Under 1.5 miles $310

The source is the Chicago Tribune.

Remember that school in Illinois by constitutional law is to be "free":

Article X; SECTION 1.  GOAL - FREE SCHOOLS
  A fundamental goal of the People of the State is the
educational development of all persons to the limits of their
capacities.
    The State shall provide for an efficient system of high
quality public educational institutions and services.
Education in public schools through the secondary level shall
be free. There may be such other free education as the
General Assembly provides by law.
    The State has the primary responsibility for financing
the system of public education.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)

Lesson On Taxes From Kankakee

In Beecher, Illinois the village, fire department, Township and the school district are all proposing increases in their property taxes.

Each is proposing a double-digit tax hike -- all designed to bring in higher taxes from new property.

The Village approved a 27 percent hike in the operating levy and cut debt service levy by 4.5 percent for an overall increase of 22.5 percent.

"All but 3.4 percent of this increase will come from new construction added to the books in 2006," said Village Administrator Bob Barber.

"Village residents who paid a property tax bill in 2006 will not see more than a 3.4 percent increase in the amount they pay the village next year. Barber added that, for the most part, the village's property tax has gone down over the past 12 years. "A home valued at $200,000 in 1994 paid $495.53 in property tax to the village," Barber said. The same home will pay an estimated $389.27 under the new levy.

Of course, the assessed valuations have also skyrocketed in the last 12 years so that same homewowner's property is now probably valued at $300,000 +!

The fire protection district is seeking a 39 percent hike.

Washington Township has proposed 16 percent increases in the township's property tax bill and in the township's road district.

Lest any gravy be left on this train, Beecher School Board seeks a 19 percent tax hike. It's estimated that there is roughly $10 million in new construction to tap in this district.

Superintendent George Obradovich said the school's request is "in line with the other taxing bodies".

So it's OK if everyone ELSE is doing it.

Still not content, the Beecher Village Board will hold public hearings on a proposed half-cent sales tax referendum. The referendum will be on the April 3 ballot.

Now I want someone to tell us that taxes AREN'T going up because the RATES are stable. Look at the SPENDING, folks.

If you have the stomach for it you may read the full article here:

Property taxes on the rise
Kankakee Daily Journal - Kankakee,IL,USA
... higher taxes from new property. Tax caps keep the property tax bite modest for most taxpayers. Village trustees Tuesday approved a ...

The Great Swiper

Cal Skinner's no-nonsense piece on what Ralph Martire (Center for Tax and Budget Responsibility - heh, heh), A+ Illinois, et. al. have in store for businesses and tax payers of Illinois is excellent.

He says, in part:

The folks at Advance 300 don’t seem to have a clue about the geo-political dynamics of Springfield politics. But they are back on the internet after a hiatus.

They have been pushing for Ralph Martire’s shell game, which will raise and broaden income and sales taxes, promising a cut in property taxes. (This group of tax hikers gave his tax hiking group $10,000.)

Good ol’ Ralph is interested in income redistribution . . .

. . . Anyone with a brain ought to be able to figure out that business pays a higher percentage of the property tax than corporations do of the income tax.

While business pays a huge share of real estate taxes --41%-- business only paid 15.7% of the income tax in Fiscal Year 2006. (I say “only” because I remember in the early 1970’s when business paid over 20% of the total.)

But, my guess is nothing will be able to penetrate the District 300 tax hikers’ mindset.

What does it matter if business has a lower tax burden and homeowners have a higher tax burden?

What does it matter that there will be a huge tax shift from business to people?

After all, it’s for the kids, right?

Now Cal's numbers are for for District 300 (Algonquin, Dundee, Kane County, etc.), the principles are universal.

Some Late Political Thanksgiving

Good ole Eric Krol in the Daily Herald, lists among others, these Illinois politicians and what they're thankful for this year (albeit one week late):

•State Treasurer-elect Alexi Giannoulias: thankful that his family contributed $3.1 million to pay for his campaign, including a late infusion of a $1 million loan by his mother.

•Tammy Duckworth: thankful that Blagojevich helped her ease the pain of a close congressional loss to Peter Roskam by awarding her a job that will pay more than $100,000 a year to oversee veterans issues in Illinois. In theory, the new gig gives her a platform from which to run again in 2008, if that’s her wish. On the other hand, the federal probe into serious allegations of “endemic hiring fraud” under Blagojevich likely involves the state’s veterans’ preference laws and whether they were skirted to pack more cronies into state jobs. Should anything erupt, Duckworth will have to choose whether to back Blagojevich or stick to the independent theme she talked about as a candidate.

•Illinois Senate President Emil Jones: thankful an unexpected wave of suburban Democratic victories gives him a veto-proof majority. Again, that could be a case of being careful what you’re thankful for, if enough members decide it’s safe to bolt the reservation.

•DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett: thankful his participation as Republican governor candidate Judy Baar Topinka’s running mate allowed him to erase his $700,000 campaign debt from his 2002 run for attorney general.

•Gov. Rod Blagojevich: strangely enough, it’s the same thing he had to be thankful for last year — all of that campaign cash he raised which allowed him to overcome his numerous scandal woes. The question looming now, of course, is whether he’ll still be thankful about how all that campaign money was raised a year from now, in light of the “gathering storm” of a federal probe.

The rest of us are just thankful that the weather is so bad there will be no sessions in Spendfield today.

"Radioactive" Veto Overide in Springfield

The Illinois House voted 82-29 Wednesday to override the governor's veto of Senate Bill 2477, which will let Peoria School District 150 have the Peoria Public Building Commission issue bonds for school construction - without voter approval. That sucking sound you hear is local school board control whooshing down to Spendfield and up to Chicago special interests.

We generally respect Rep. David Leitch, R-Peoria, and like what he says, but he's been dead wrong philosophically on this one. He said yesterday:

"It's about as radioactive as it can get because it deals with non-referendum debt," he said, adding that new schools are "urgently needed" for District 150.

If you think this is bad, just wait 'til we get the tax-swipe, errh, swap in place for "real education funding reform" in Illinois. Those jokers from A+ Illinois (Sean Noble), the "Center for Tax and Budget Accountability", the "Metropolitan [Chicago] Planning Council are drooling all over themselves. They just can't wait to increase the income tax, institute a "services" sales tax, call it property tax (school)reform and stick it into the teachers' pension funds.

As an aside, here are a few blurbs from Google. It's the usual suspects looking for tax dollars:

Illinois Federation of Teachers

The Illinois Federation of Teachers is a leading member of A+ Illinois Coalition - a ... How much truth is behind these claims? The AFT asked Washington, ...
www.ift-aft.org/ - 23k - Nov 29, 2006 - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Alliance Library System - Taking Library Service to a New High Point

Check out the A+ Illinois website and consider joining the effort to support ... until No Child Left Behind legislation is reauthorized, to communicate with ...
www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/article.cfm?year=2006&month=1 - 114k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

CATALYST, April 2004: Resolved: State taxes should be raised to ...

... is a member of A+ Illinois, the coalition promoting school finance reform. ... and the federal No Child Left Behind Act ($1.4 billion to $1.5 billion). ...
www.catalyst-chicago.org/arch/04-04/0404debate.htm - 30k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Illinois Education Association - IEA insider ~ Oct. 13, 2006

Join A+ Illinois and several other community groups for a community forum on education funding at 7 p.m., Oct. 23 at the Chicago Embassy Church. ...
www.ieanea.org/Oct13insider.aspx - 153k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Early Childhood Advocacy and Public Policy

Chicago City Council. Chicago and Illinois. A+ Illinois · Build Initiative ... Illinois Action for Children (formerly Day Care Action Council of Illinois) ...
home.sprintmail.com/~peggyriehl/pradvppolicy.htm - 12k - Nov 28, 2006 - Cached - Similar pages - Note this



Clearly the foxes again wish to be the gardians for the henhouse.

"New" Congressional Democrat Education Plans

This from our friends over at the Education Intelligence Agency:

The Hill reports that Congressional Democrats held a big meeting yesterday to plan their legislative agenda. A few people were there to help them decide:

"Representatives from AFSCME, AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, Americans United, a labor-funded advocacy group, and a slew of progressive groups — including USAction, ACORN, Campaign for America’s Future, and MoveOn.org — attended the meeting."

This is the new "conservative" Democrat approach? (Wait - we forgot - it's governance "for the common good".)

WANTED: Board of Trustees representative

The Illinois Community College District #514 (I.C.C.) is electing two Trustees this spring.

Woodford County needs someone on this board. Any takers out there? Here's the current board serving six year terms:

Jerry E. Wright (Chair); Trivoli
Retired - Caterpillar Inc.
Trustee, 1989 - present

Mary A. Heller (Vice-Chair); Peoria
Retired - Bradley University
Trustee, 1991 - present

Robert R. Ehrich; Pekin
Retired - Private Practice of Dentistry
Trustee, 1976 - present

Ken A. Hinrichs; Peoria
Retired - Educator
Trustee, 1991 - present

James K. Polk; Peoria
President - Balance Stone Strategy Group
Trustee, 1993, 1998 - present

James G. Sherman; Peoria
Retired - President, Peoria Children's Home
Trustee, 2005 - present

Sue K. Yoder; East Peoria
Vice President - Marketing, CEFCU
Trustee, 1999 - present

One needs 50 signatures on a petition to be filed from January 29 through February 5, 2007. We're a little bit unclear on which Trustees' terms are up and whether they are running again.
The District boundaries map is here.