Prairie State Wire

Illinoisans can expect even higher property tax rates as the ongoing pandemic accelerates the decades-long shift of the burden from commercial property holders to homes, a conservative-leaning public policy expert warned in a recent op-ed commentary.

Hardest hit will be Chicago-area and collar county homeowners, Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski said in the op-ed published in the Madison-St. Clair Record on June 29.

"The news is especially bad for Chicago homeowners as the city is more reliant on commercial properties than most areas," Dabrowski wrote in the op-ed. "Not only will they get hit with having to pay a bigger slice of the property tax pie but the pie is expected to grow significantly."

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot faces a $700 million budget deficit "and in the absence of structural reforms, property tax hikes are the most likely way to fill the gap," Dabrowski said. "Homeowners will end up getting hit with a double whammy of increases."

Dabrowski had a16-year international career in finance and management before joining Wirepoints. He also spent six years as Illinois Policy Institute spokesman and vice president of policy.

Illinois homeowners pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation, second highest behind New Jersey.

Dabrowski wrote that it's "hard to imagine many residents putting up with paying even more," but also noted that the property tax burden has "slowly shifted" over decades from business properties to homes.

"COVID-19 is about to make things worse," the op-ed noted.

"The lockdown has left many businesses and commercial properties with reduced or no income for months, bringing down the economic value of their properties," Dabrowski wrote. "Many owners can be expected to appeal their property assessments to reflect that reality. Commercial and office space in downtown Chicago and other suburban areas will also see their assessments drop as businesses shrink their footprint going forward."

Fiscal reforms and reductions in government spending could make a difference but that has historically been a nonstarter for Illinois Democratic politicians, which leaves only one group of tax payers to soak, Dabrowski said.

"As commercial values fall – and local governments show little to no willingness to cut spending – homeowners will have to make up the difference," he said.