Susann D.

“I can’t believe I’m still dealing with this. I’ve had to file some sort of [property-tax] appeal almost every single year since I moved here in 1998.

“So many seniors’ brains don’t function really well, but I’m lucky I had a professional background that helped me file those appeals. Patience and perseverance are the primary attributes. It just takes loads of time as one plows through this system that is filled with errors. It’s exhausting. 

“And the property-tax increase is never a kind of earth-shattering amount, but people have to make it work by cutting their budgets. I look online for houses like mine in other states on a similar size lot, and the property taxes are $400 a year. My property taxes here are $7,000 a year.

“I do want to leave. But this is the most difficult question in my life. If I knew where I was going, that ‘For Sale’ sign would be in front of my house. But I have no family or friends anywhere else. What do I do? Where do I go?”

Susann D.
Mt. Prospect, Illinois