• It reduces our reliance on property taxes to fund schools by mandating an annual property tax abatement of $2.9 billion (indexed to inflation for each subsequent year) with every property owner seeing a minimum of 20% property tax relief on the portion of the bill designated to education.
• The Invest in Illinois Fund is created and funded with $1 billion each year to provide funding for debt service and fees on bonds for capital projects, such as roads and schools, throughout the State.
• The bill also mandates a $300 million annual appropriation (indexed for inflation) for grants to institutions of Higher Education.
• Increases for Early Childhood education are phased in, from $45 million in 2009-2010 to $180 million in 2012-2013.
• Increases to the Foundation Level are phased in, raising it from $6,044 for the 2009-2010 school year (from $5,734) up to $6,974 for the 2012-2013 school year.  The Foundation Level and Supplemental General State Aid (Poverty Grants) are automatically tied to increases to the Employment Cost Index to control for inflation.
• Creates a School Improvement Partnership Fund to target resources to proven programs such as smaller class sizes, literacy coaching, longer school days and teacher mentoring;
• Maintains and expands grants for high-poverty schools
• The personal income tax is increased to 5% (from 3%), and the corporate income tax is increased to 8% (from 4.8%).
• Family Tax Credits are provided to single taxpayers earning less than $26,695 and married couples earning less than $53,694.

Click here to listen to a 23 minute interview with Ralph Martire, Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, on SB 2288.

Senate Passes Budget Scheme to Close Deficit 

 Session Half Over

Revenues Fall in March as Federal Sources & Personal Income Tax Weaken

Proposed Income Tax Constitutional Amendment Voted Down in the House

  Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan Proposes
 Change in the Classification Ordinance
 

(From the Cook County Assessor's Office) -  Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan announced today that he is proposing to the County Board that the classification ordinance be recalibrated from the current levels, to the simpler and more transparent levels, of 10 and 25.

Speaking at the City Club of Chicago Public Policy forum, where he has also announced other major past initiatives, Houlihan said, "There is a certain disconnect with a property's market value in relationship to property taxes and this change will bring transparency and allow for even more accountability and fairness in the property tax system."

The current ordinance level for residential properties is at 16% of market value and the proposal calls for those to be at 10%.  The assessment level for commercial and industrial properties would be adjusted from 38% and 36% to 25%.

"This change will cement the relationship between the assessment and market value," Houlihan said.  "It will give taxpayers the ability to review their assessments and determine if it clearly reflects the correct market value for their properties."

Houlihan stressed that this was a starting point and that he hopes to get input regarding the best way to implement this important change. "My goal is that the Board will be able to review the measure and begin holding hearings in June and that the provision will be passed this fall," he said.

Other initiatives the Assessor referenced at the City Club speech included:

·      Factoring legislation which would allow the Assessor to adjust values every year instead of every three years by using a factor based on inflation or some other specific market measure. This would take the sticker shock out of triennial reassessments. Mayor Daley has pledged his support to this initiative this year.

·      Examining the viability of a universal circuit breaker that caps an individual's tax to a percent of income. The state currently has a limited circuit breaker in place to assist seniors who are experiencing financial troubles.  This circuit breaker would be a universal circuit breaker for all homeowners.  The Assessor said this tax relief proposal is important since the Legislature will not fund education properly and since the Speaker of the House has indicated that he thinks the 7% Expanded Homeowner Exemption should be phased out.