SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In light of ongoing meetings of the Property Tax Relief Task Force, state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, is calling for the General Assembly to immediately pass a statewide property tax freeze during the upcoming veto session.

“Democrats and Republicans on the Property Tax Relief Task Force must work together to actively craft a comprehensive package to bring meaningful property relief to the people of Illinois,” DeLuca said. “We’ve been battling the issue of high property taxes for a long time and I myself voted to freeze or cut property taxes repeatedly over the past few years. Relief for Illinois homeowners is long overdue.”

DeLuca’s current call for a statewide freeze is not without precedent. In past legislative sessions, DeLuca voted to cut or freeze property taxes in Illinois at least 19 times. The Property Tax Relief Task Force, made up of members from both parties and chambers, has been meeting since early August. The final report of the Task Force must be given to Gov. J.B. Pritzker by the end of the year with any changes that include short- and long-term solutions to providing relief for homeowners.

“While the Task Force’s meetings have been productive, my fear is that we are still a long ways away from meaningful relief,” DeLuca said. “In the meantime, I think it’s prudent we take steps that the General Assembly has taken before and that is voting to freeze property taxes statewide.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Continuing her efforts to provide meaningful property tax relief to homeowners, state Rep. Fran Hurley, D-Chicago, voted recently for a new property tax relief package that would freeze local rates for two years.

“People throughout my district have expressed how the increase in property taxes have made it increasingly difficult to stay in their homes,” Hurley said. “This legislation is an effort to provide relief for these hardworking families throughout the community.”

Hurley backed Senate Bill 851, which freezes property taxes for all units of government in Will, Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage and Cook Counties for two years. During this time, homeowners would have to approve any proposed property tax increase. Additionally, the measure would provide relief to taxpayers by increasing senior-specific exemptions, as well as exemptions for other homeowners. Under Hurley’s plan, voters would have the ability to extend the freeze beyond two years.

Senate Bill 851 passed the House with bipartisan support and will now be considered by the Senate.

“Nobody should be driven from the home or neighborhood they want to live in due to excessive property tax bills,” Hurley said. “I was glad to see that this measure received bipartisan support in the House, and I encourage the Senate to take immediate action so that we can bring real relief to residents now.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Building upon his recent legislative success to streamline government and reduce the cost of government, state Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, passed a two-year property tax freeze with expanded relief for Lake County longtime homeowners and senior citizens in the House last week.

“Our current property tax system is simply not sustainable and forcing hard-working families and seniors out of their homes,” Yingling said. “Illinoisans must not continue to be crushed by out of control, increasing property taxes. My measure will provide immediate short-term relief while lawmakers continue to work for long-term property tax relief.”

Yingling passed Senate Bill 851 in the House with broad bi-partisan support. The measure implements a two-year property tax freeze with exemptions for debt service, pensions and schools in financial distress. Yingling’s bill also expands the general homestead and senior homestead exemptions by increasing the value to $10,000 and $8,000 respectively, putting Lake County homeowners on a level playing field with Cook County.

“Middle-class families must not continue to pay for decades of poor financial stewardship of local governments and the state,” Yingling said. “A temporary property tax freeze is a step in the right direction, but we ultimately must do more to lower the property tax burden for working families.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Speaker Michael J. Madigan will give workers injured on the job an opportunity to tell legislators how Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed changes to the workers’ compensation system will directly impact them at a committee of the whole hearing Thursday.

“The governor and his allies are determined to institute changes to workers’ compensation, but they have no desire to hear from the middle-class workers who will actually be impacted by their changes. No one plans to be injured on the job, but every day workers are seriously hurt or even permanently disabled on the job through no fault of their own.” Madigan said. “Democrats have put legislation on the governor’s desk that will help employers cope with workers’ compensation insurance costs, without hurting middle-class families. As the governor insists on further changes, we owe it to the people directly affected by these changes to give them a seat at the table and a voice in the discussion, not just to hear from the corporate CEOs whispering in Governor Rauner’s ear.”

Madigan will call all members of the House to a committee of the whole hearing on Thursday, June 22 to discuss the governor’s workers’ compensation changes with workers previously injured on the job, and with medical professionals.

Democrats have already passed House Bill 2525, which will help ensure Illinois businesses see the benefits of reform by requiring insurance companies to pass savings on to local employers. The measure also takes steps to crack down on fraud and abuse, and includes additional measures to reduce costs without jeopardizing the health or economic security of workers.

On Friday, June 23, Madigan will convene another committee of the whole to discuss the governor’s proposed property tax freeze with local government officials and educators. Both hearings will convene at 2 p.m. in the House chamber.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, spoke Thursday in the House Revenue and Finance Committee about a measure he introduced to freeze property tax rates for individuals who are currently disabled.

“Going door-to-door, I have met individuals who are disabled and unable to work, but still have to face the financial and personal stress of rising property taxes,” Halpin said. “This proposal would bring some relief by freezing the assessed value of their home, allowing their rates to effectively be frozen.”

Based off of the already existing Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption, Halpin’s House Bill 3702 would create a comparable exemption for disabled individuals. The exemption would be available to qualifying individuals of any age who have a household income under $55,000.

Halpin also spoke in favor of his House Bill 3706, which would expand the Historic River Edge Tax Credit to the Quad Cities. The Historic River Edge Tax Credit program aims to revitalize communities by attracting private investment for older structures in need of renovation and redevelopment.

“This is a program that has worked in other communities in Illinois, and would allow us to be competitive at attracting investment on the Illinois side of the Quad Cities,” Halpin said. “We need to be looking at ways to create and keep jobs, and this is a way we can do so.”

For more information, please contact Halpin’s constituent service office at 309-448-3612 or RepHalpin@gmail.com.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –Members of Grayslake’s Carillon North Community visited Springfield Thursday to speak in support of pro-taxpayer measures being championed by state Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake.

“This group of Grayslake residents are joining me in my fight to freeze property taxes and give local homeowners the relief that they deserve,” said Yingling. “Today, we sent a loud message to Springfield politicians that we will not allow ourselves to be taxed out of our homes. It’s time for real and meaningful tax relief that helps middle-class families and senior citizens.”

Residents spoke in support of Yingling’s measures to freeze property taxes, expand property tax relief for seniors and encourage government consolidation during a hearing of the House Revenue & Finance Committee on Thursday. The group has been engaged in on-going conversations with Yingling and the trip to the Capitol was organized by Yingling and Grayslake residents Paul Bernardoni and Bill Morris.

ELGIN, Ill. – To help Kane County homeowners minimize their property tax bills, state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, is hosting a Property Tax Homestead Exemption Seminar with the Kane County Assessment Office on Monday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Centre of Elgin, located at 100 Symphony Way in Elgin.

“Because property taxes can be confusing and frustrating, I’m committed to providing local residents with resources to better understand them,” Moeller said. “The aim of this workshop is to inform homeowners about the homestead exemptions they are eligible for so that they aren’t paying higher property tax bills than necessary.”

The Property Tax Homestead Exemption Seminar will be presented by Mark Armstrong, Kane County Supervisor of Assessments. He will explain several ways taxpayers can save money on their property tax bills including making sure all homestead exemptions are properly applied. Staff will be available on-site to check homestead exemptions and provide applications for those who qualify.

Since taking office, Moeller has fought to reduce the property tax burden on local homeowners. She has also hosted several successful property tax workshops in the Elgin area over the last several years.

“I’m excited for this workshop and I appreciate that the county provides this useful information to homeowners,” Moeller said. “I look forward to working with the Kane County Assessment Office again to help ensure that homeowners are only paying their fair share of property taxes.”

For more information, or to RSVP for the workshop, please call Rep. Moeller’s full-time constituent service office at 847-841-7130 or email StateRepMoeller@gmail.com.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, pushed his nineteenth action in support of a property tax freeze.

“Illinois families mustn’t continue to face unreasonable and burdensome tax hikes every year,” Yingling said. “It’s time for all taxing entities to live within their means and stop penalizing Illinoisans. This measure would freeze the amount of tax dollars that can be imposed by our local units of government and provide a level of cost containment for the hard-working families of our state.”

Yingling filed House Bill 382 last week. HB382 is the nineteenth time he has officially voted or sponsored legislation that would freeze taxes. The measure would prevent local taxing bodies from maximizing their taxable levies by freezing the dollar amount of their tax levies.

“I have supported and sponsored numerous measures aimed at reducing taxes, consolidating government, halting the creation of new layers of government, and stopping lobbyists from receiving a taxpayer funded pension,” Yingling said. “I remain committed to fighting for a more fiscally responsible government and working toward delivering real tax relief for our state.”

Yingling represents the 62nd District, which contains portions of Gages Lake, Grayslake, Gurnee, Hainesville, the Round Lake communities, Wauconda and Wildwood.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In an effort to grant relief to Illinois taxpayers, state Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, supported House Bill 6630, a proposal that would freeze property taxes for Illinois homeowners for two years.

“For far too long Illinois homeowners, especially Oak Park residents, have been forced to pay increasingly higher property taxes, even in cases where home values drop,” said Lilly. “I wanted to send a message that I stand with my constituents and, once again, voted for a measure that would grant a two year freeze on a property tax hike.”

Lilly supported House Bill 6630, which would change the existing Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) and enact an immediate statewide freeze on property taxes. Current PTELL policy only applies to non-home rule governments partially to completely located in Cook County, collar counties and counties that have enacted PTELL. House Bill 6630 revises current statutes and would apply to every unit of local government, home rule and non-home rule, in Illinois. Additionally, the bill would set the 2016 tax year and succeeding tax years extension limitations to 0%, or a voter approved referendum. House Bill 6630 passed the Illinois House of Representatives with bipartisan support and moves to the Senate for consideration.

“This bill is common sense and deserves to be a priority that we can quickly enact,” said Lilly. “Tax relief is critical in our state and this is clearly a good step in that direction.”

Lilly represents the 78th District, which includes parts of Chicago, Elmwood Park, Melrose Park, Franklin Park, Oak Park, and River Grove. If you need to contact her office, please call 708-613-5939 or email her at StateRepCamilleYLilly@gmail.com.

DES PLAINES, Ill. – As part of his ongoing efforts to provide middle-class homeowners with financial relief, state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, helped pass legislation out of the House this week that would freeze property tax rates for two years.

“For too long, the families I represent have been crushed under the burden of skyrocketing property taxes,” Moylan said. “I have been fighting in Springfield to freeze property taxes and give middle-class homeowners the financial relief they deserve.”

Moylan has been a consistent advocate for property tax reform in the Legislature. He voted 17 times last year to freeze property taxes. The legislation he supported Tuesday would prohibit any level of government from raising property tax rates beginning in 2016 unless it is approved by a majority of voters. This legislation would give local residents an unprecedented level of control over their property tax rates. Gov. Rauner has demanded the passage of a property tax freeze as one of his conditions for his return to bi-partisan budget working groups. Moylan also helped pass workers’ compensation reform legislation this week, another Rauner demand for returning to the negotiating table.

“Freezing property taxes will give families in my district the peace of mind in knowing they will get to keep more of their hard-earned dollars,” Moylan said. “Today’s bi-partisan vote on property tax relief should send a loud and clear message to Gov. Rauner that it’s time to return to the negotiating table, so we can work together on passing a fair and responsible budget.”

For more information, please contact Moylan’s full-time constituent service office at 847-635-6821 or email staterepmoylan@gmail.com.