Amendment 1 could lock in $2B residential property tax hike
Statewide residential property tax extensions are on pace to total more than $24 billion by 2026, which is $2 billion more than the current total. Amendment 1’s expansion of government union power would likely accelerate that $2 billion increase.
Illinois households can expect to pay an additional $2 billion in property taxes by 2026 if voters OK Amendment 1 and property tax increases continue at their recent rate.
Statewide, residential commercial property tax extensions are on pace to total more than $24 billion by 2026, up from $22 billion in 2022. The bulk of this increase, $1.1 billion, will fall on Cook County homeowners, while collar county homeowners will pay an additional $567 million, and downstate homeowners will pay $306 million more in property taxes by 2026.
Translated for the state’s median homeowner, the property tax hike is conservatively estimated at more than $2,100 during the next four years.
The increase in property taxes could wind up being much worse if Amendment 1 is passed on Nov. 8. The measure at the top of the ballot would allow government unions to make demands outside the normal scope of bargaining, strike if their demands are not met, thwart simple, pro-taxpayer reforms, crowd out government services and exacerbate corruption in Illinois.
Amendment 1 is a referendum on taxes in Illinois more than anything else. If property taxes simply continue to rise at their historical rates, homeowners across the state will be asked to pay nearly $2 billion in higher residential property taxes annually by 2026. Should government union bosses exercise new powers granted through Amendment 1, the tax hike on Illinoisans could wind up being far more costly.
That endless loop of unlimited union demands, higher government costs and rising taxes is likely why no other state has a similar amendment.
Illinois voters have a decision to make before Nov. 8: either they can vote to fund the never-ending demands of government union bosses, or they can send a message by saying “no” to more tax increases in Illinois.