DuPage officials wary of tax cap
They say measure would hurt many

By John Biemer and William Presecky
Tribune staff reporters
Published July 29, 2004

A potential 7 percent cap on the annual increase in property assessments signed into law this month by Gov. Rod Blagojevich was billed as "tax relief." But DuPage County officials are concerned that if they opt to impose the cap, it would benefit some richer homeowners while shifting the tax burden to seniors, owners of lower-priced homes, and businesses.

"This thing appears to be motherhood and apple pie right now," County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom said recently. "In five years we may be all scratching our heads saying, `it wasn't such a good thing.'"

In Kane County, officials dispatched the measure Wednesday to a County Board committee for further review. There was no support for the assessment cap from the board's Executive Committee before deferring action.

County boards across the state have about 5 1/2 months to decide whether to opt into the cap, championed by Cook County Assessor James Houlihan because the taxable value of some homes--particularly in Chicago--have been skyrocketing.

Assessments in Cook are done once every three years. Houlihan's office reported that some home assessments have jumped 25 percent to 150 percent, making taxes too burdensome for some longtime homeowners who saw their neighborhoods improve around them.

"If it weren't for Cook County's problem, we wouldn't be looking at this as an option," said Kane County Board member John Hoscheit (R-St. Charles). "This is really special legislation."

Only about one in 20 DuPage property owners would get a tax break as a result of the cap, DuPage County Clerk Gary King said after a public meeting on the proposal Tuesday night in Lombard, and those likely would be homeowners with rapidly appreciating, expensive homes.

But if the cap were imposed, taxing bodies such as municipalities and school districts would face raising tax rates to generate the revenue needed to operate. That would ratchet up tax bills for seniors with assessment freezes, residents with less-expensive homes, and businesses.

"This is kind of a Robin Hood thing," King said. "It's doing exactly the opposite everybody thinks it is."

As a result of the higher rates, only homes appreciating 9 percent or more in value would see smaller tax bills, he said. Next year in DuPage, average assessments are projected to increase from 7.2 percent in Winfield Township to 10.25 percent in Bloomingdale Township.

In Naperville Township, only about one in 10 assessed property values goes up by more than 7 percent a year, said Naperville Township Assessor Warren Dixon, and the exceptions mostly are concentrated in neighborhoods such as downtown Naperville. That would leave most property owners penalized if the cap is in place, he said.

"We are going to have to make up the difference in Naperville Township," Dixon said.

There were a few voices in favor of the cap at Tuesday's meeting in Lombard. Patricia Boehm, a homeowner for the last 15 years near Bensenville, said her assessments went up 26 percent last year and her tax bill increased by $1,200, which she said was not justifiable.

"There's no reason for it," she said. "There's no improvement to my property."

Kane Supervisor of Assessment Sallie Huber estimates that 92,000 of Kane's roughly 127,000 residential properties would qualify for the cap under the new law.

Capping assessments for three years and then uncapping them, potentially generating a huge assessment increase, Hoschiet said, "could create a problem here that we don't have now."

"It's quite complicated, and I don't fully have my hands around it," said Kane County Board Chairman Mike McCoy (R-Aurora). "I think we have to look at a measured approach to this."

DuPage's ad hoc committee assigned by Schillerstrom to analyze the proposal plans to meet again Aug.18 in Downers Grove before making a recommendation to the County Board.

"I just want to make sure the taxes are spread as equitably as possible," said Grant Eckhoff (R-Wheaton), the County Board member assigned to be chairman of the committee.