Prairie State Wire

While Republicans have publicly slammed a statewide property tax plan that could add thousands to Illinois homeowners’ property taxes, suburban Democrats have opted not to criticize the idea.

Proposed in May by the Chicago Federal Reserve, the statewide residential property tax of one percent could tack on an additional $2,500 annually for a home worth $250,000. This plan has been touted by some as the only way to generate the hundreds of billions in tax revenue it would take to pay the state's unfunded pension liabilities.

"Because the debt is so large, it’s unrealistic to think that new taxes (such as a tax on legalized marijuana or financial transactions) or increases that affect only a narrow segment of the population will be enough," the Fed's Thomas Hassl, Rick Mattoon and Thomas Walstrum wrote. "Illinois will have to find additional revenues from already existing tax bases, either by increasing rates, expanding the definition of what is taxable, or a combination of the two."

"Do Illinois homeowners have the ability to pay these larger tax bills? Our calculations suggest that, even under the best-case scenario, the additional tax bill is quite high, and some households would certainly struggle to pay it," they wrote.

The proposed increase would amount to a 43 percent increase on the average that Illinois homeowners pay, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

The plan could become a reality next year, if Democrats retain control of the legislature and Democrat J.B. Pritzker unseats Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Wirepoints' Mark Glennon says the idea would tank Illinois' residential real estate market.

It surely ranks among the most blatantly inhumane and foolish ideas we’ve seen yet," he wrote. "Are they blind to human consequences? Confiscatory property tax rates have already robbed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of Illinois families of their home equity — probably the lion’s share of whatever wealth they had."

Following is a list of incumbent Democrats for House seats, along with their Republican challengers:

House District	Democrat Candidate	Republican Challenger
19	Rep. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago)	Ammie Kessem
35	Rep. Frances Ann Hurley (D-Chicago)	Herbert Hebein
44	Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates)	Katy Dolan Baumer
46	Rep. Deborah Conroy (D-Villa Park)	Gordon Kinzler
48	Terra Costa Howard	Incumbent Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard)
49	Karina Villa	Tonia Khouri
55	Rep. Martin J. Moylan (D-Des Plaines)	Marilyn Smolenski
62	Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake)	Ken Idstein
65	Richard Johnson	Dan Ugaste
70	Paul Stoddard	Jeff Keicher
85	Rep. John Connor (D-Lockport)	Lisa Bickus
98	Rep. Natalie Manley (D-Joliet)	Alyssia Benford
101	Jennifer McMillin	Dan Caulkins
107	David Seiler	Blaine Wilhour
109	Cynthia Given	Darren Bailey
110	Shirley Bell	Chris Miller
111	Rep. Monica Bristow (D-Godfrey)	Mike Babcock
112	Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville)	Dwight Kay
113	Rep. Jay C. Hoffman (D-Swansea)	Doug Jameson
116	Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Smithon)	David Friess
118	Wes Sherrod/Samuel Stratemeyer	Patrick Windhorst

In the Senate, here's a list of Democrats and their Republican counterparts, sorted by district:

Senate District	Democrat Candidate	Republican Challenger
9	Laura Fine	Joan McCarthy Lasonde
23	Incumbent Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park)	Seth Lewis
29	Incumbent Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield)	Barrett Davie
30	Incumbent Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills)	Soojae Lee
32	Mary Mahady	Craig Wilcox
45	David Simpson	Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Freeport)
48	Incumbent Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill)	Seth McMillan
54	Brian Stout	Jason Plummer
56	Rachelle Aud Crowe (D-Glen Carbon)	Hal Patton (Conservatie Party)
57	Christopher Belt	Tanya Hildenbrand