Illinois sky high property taxes 2nd-highest in nation (Springfield: car insurance, home)

[pnwmdk]

Originally Posted by linicx

I've long thought the education system is badly flawed and should be left to real educators. Most of the kids coming out of school today don't know the difference between Y'all and yawl.
Local teachers have their hands tied.

Most people do not understand what low taxes actually entails until they have a catastrophic event that becomes years of long term medical care at home with little expectation of recovery.

What's more amazing, is that those who continue to advocate more taxes never wake up to the fact that government and taxes ARE the cause of just about every problem we have.

[linicx]

I don't know that I would espouse the extreme, as it is something you cannot escape anywhere in the world. What I do think is free-wheeling lobbyists and lawless anti-competitive corporations that do not serve the public good does not work in any form of government where there is no safeguard or lifeguard.

We have bigger issues with a public school system that has not sucessfully educated any child for 50 years. It is frightening to look at the numbers of 30+ year old adults who cannot read, write, add, think independently, or understand consequences. One should not need a doctorate in science to understand if you grab a live wire you will light up like the Statue of Liberty. This may not be true in our smallest states, but it certainly true in states with 12M population.

I personally think parents who homeschool do a superior job of educating compared to the average public school system. Public schools could learn from them and create innovative teaching tools.

Originally Posted by pnwmdk

What's more amazing, is that those who continue to advocate more taxes never wake up to the fact that government and taxes ARE the cause of just about every problem we have.

[retrogal214]

I've noticed the extensively high tax rates since our house search which started months ago. What we have chalked it up to is that the taxes are higher in some areas to keep the areas ... well ... to a specific demographic.

The housing prices aren't any higher but to keep the "unwanted" individuals out of the area they have high taxes not everyone can afford. We are seeing this going from neighborhood to neighborhood. We have looked at several homes priced between $170 to $200k with taxes ranging from $2,000+ up to $4,000+.

Again if you want the safe areas, good schools and respectable neighbors your going to pay for it one way or another. Remember those taxes go to keeping the area from going into decline. That's what's happening to our neighborhood so were moving. It's too affordable to everyone. Which has caused the school district to dramatically decline to accommodate the below poverty families and the kids who don't show up.

[retrogal214]

In addition we have areas around us that are losing school accrediations. Guess how they are planning on fixing this problem? Bus the kids that come from the "ghetto" areas into the high dollar public schools. People are pissed asking why do we pay the high taxes and these kids get to come to our schools and their parents don't have to pay a dime? I don't get it!

[cubssoxfan]

Looking at how screwed up our state finances are due to Madigan and his cronies; thank goodness local property taxes pay for the schools. At least this money (mainly) goes from my pocket direct to the local school district. And I do have a voice in how they spend the money.

[linicx]

I don't know who is responsible for what, but Quinn gave Chicago another $445M for road improvement.

[SWilk777]

I paid $5197 for a house worth about 125K in Rockford IL. 14% taxes. Schools claiming to be broke, unemployment through the roof, and foreclosures on every corner, it's time to MOVE. (It has gone up $1700 in the last 5 years.)

[cubssoxfan]

And you didn't realize that many of those problems resulted in a $125K home now being worth $5.2K?!?!

[OccasionalCommentary2020]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

Juast an observation on schools and ratings.
I have hired probably 60-70 people thruoghout my career in states such as WI, IL and now OR.

These people all came from many different backgrounds, schooling and families.

I no longer beleive the quality of the public school they came from, had more than a 20% allocation to their success/failure as an adult or in their career. There are so many other factors that come into play.

I am starting to believe that, as a nation, we are played as fools by the huge Public Education industry. It is time to start talking in terms of how we are being taken advantage of by "Big Education" industry, just as the media likes to talk about "Big Oil."

I am sure Big TR's children have an equal change of succeeding in life coming out of a public school in TN as a kid coming out of the uber rich New Trier schooling system.

There is too much propoganda promoted by "Big Education" to understand the truth.


On another point, I am very glad we no longer pay the high IL prop. taxes!
I think they went up 30 % in the 3 yrs we owned a home in Arlington Heights.
The home also lost 60K value in those same 3 yrs. I was just happy we were able to sell and get out.
Taxes higher - value lower: bad recipe for success.

You make some great points.

I'm finding that fewer and fewer people actually believe the overused and INVENTED public secgtor mantras supporting higher and higher property taxes.

The argument "that higher taxes are worth it because of 'good schools' and better services" is wearing more and more thin with each and every tax increase matched with lower and lower private sector wages (or private sector wages that just don't cover the bills like they used to).

Same deal for THE IDEA "that there's nothing that can be done about it ..."

Have we reverted to a pre 1900 Eastern European mindset ??? Are we all peasants paying the kings ransom of our livelihoods to prop up the power and glory of the public sector ???

I don't care how people rationalize this issue.

$5K-$8K property taxes on a $125K-$150 home is ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

[OccasionalCommentary2020]

re: I don't care how people rationalize this issue. $5K-$8K property taxes on a $125K-$150 home is ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

Most metro areas smaller than Chicago will have 2-5 suburbs with taxes comparable to Chicago's suburban taxes.

But those areas will be well known to nearly everyone within 50 miles of downtown .. People will make the conscious choice whether or not to suffer higher tax rates. And most people will choose to spend that extra $500-$2000/mo differently and live in one of 10-30 other suburbs.

It's a different story entirely and very much a problem when the sky high tax rates affect nearly every suburb.

Chicago is expensive BUT it's not "New York Expensive." Something else entirely is going on here.