Prairie State Wire

Ted Dabrowski said an article on Wirepoints forecasting higher property taxes for homeowners because of economic damage to businesses in Illinois has received much attention.

Dabrowski co-wrote the article with John Klingner. It was published June 26 and has generated considerable discussion.

“There’s been a lot of attention given to that piece,” he said.

It offers an alarming prediction for homeowners across the state.

“Illinois homeowners can count on higher property taxes next year to be one of the many negative outcomes of COVID-19,” it stated. “Commercial property assessments are expected to drop due to the consequences of the coronavirus and that’s going to leave residential property owners holding the bag. The lockdown has left many businesses and commercial properties with reduced or no income for months, bringing down the economic value of their properties. Many owners can be expected to appeal their property assessments to reflect that reality.”

Dabrowski said state Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) gave them a tip that set him to work.

“It was him that brought it to our attention,” he told Prairie State Wire.

Wilcox, a retired Air Force colonel in his first full term in the state Senate, is quoted in the article. He said cities and government workers have shown no signs they will help keep government costs down.

“We’ve seen very few public sector unions kicking in on this ‘Illinois is all in this together.’ There’s not been a halt to automatic COLAs,” Wilcox said. “And there’s not been agreement by the public unions to renegotiate any collective bargaining agreements on a short-term scale. We’ve not seen significant layoffs. I don’t think we’re going to see lower tax levies come November-December of this year.”

Dabrowski said once he learned of the issue, he interviewed several county assessors and saw what Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi was saying.

“I realized Sen. Wilcox was absolutely right,” Dabrowski said.

He said with commercial properties harmed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s emergency orders that shut down many businesses in that state, it has created an emergency the same as a flood or another natural disaster. Reduced occupancy led to a sharp revenue decline for commercial property owners.

That will allow them to appeal their assessments and obtain a lower figure.

“There’s many consequences linked to the governor’s plan,” Dabrowski said. “In this case it’s the governor who created the emergency.”

All this comes as Illinois residents are dealing with closed parks and libraries and reduced access to public services. Yet they are still taxed at a very high level, Dabrowski said, adding, “People are sick and tired of paying the highest property tax in the nation.” 

Some studies say Illinois pays the second-highest in country but no one disputes that ratepayers have a heavy burden.

Similar issues occupy Dabrowski’s time and energy. An Illinois native, his family left the state when he was very young and he returned 40 years later.

His parents came to the United States from Poland and Ecuador. He has been involved with business across the globe, including serving as the head of corporate banking and a management member of Citibank in Poland.

He obtained a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago, an MBA in finance from the Wharton School and has a bachelor’s degree in management from Georgia Tech. 

Before moving into his current role as president of Wirepoints, he was the vice president of policy and spokesman at the Illinois Policy Institute for six years. The goal at Wirepoints, an independent nonprofit, is to provide facts and analysis free from politics, according to its website.

A resident of Willmette, Dabrowski, 56, has never served in government, been involved in a campaign or run for office. That might change. Illinois needs people willing to work for change, he said.

“Who knows?” he said.