Nearly 70% of Chicago voters support property tax freeze
In an Illinois Policy Institute poll, 69% of surveyed Chicago voters supported freezing property taxes.
Chicagoans want property tax relief from city leaders, according to voters surveyed just ahead of city elections. Nearly 70% of residents in an Illinois Policy Institute survey supported a property tax freeze.
When broken down by political ideology, more than two-thirds of Republican, independent and Democratic voters all supported a property tax freeze.
When broken down by race, Black Chicagoans support a property tax freeze the most at 75%. White and Hispanic residents overwhelmingly support a property tax freeze, as well as a plurality of Asian-Americans and Pacific islanders.
During the past 10 years, Chicago’s property tax levy has doubled, growing from $860 million to more than $1.7 billion in 2023. And for individual homeowners they can skyrocket more quickly: Dorothy Ross in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood saw her property tax bill go up 884% in a year, even after qualifying for a senior exemption.
“And when it comes in that high, especially if I don't have it, that means that I got to go somewhere else to get it. I got to go get a loan from the bank or I got to ask my children for it, it’s got to come from somewhere because it’s got to be paid,” Ross told ABC 7 in Chicago.
Chicago’s property tax hikes stem from massive debt to retired government workers. Chicago holds $33 billion in pension debt, more than 41 states.
With Chicago’s Feb. 28 mayoral election less than a week away, the next mayor needs to listen to property owners. They aren’t happy about their property taxes.