Paul Jacobs, a Pomona Republican running in the GOP primary in the 115th House District, has some answers as to what's behind rapidly rising property taxes in Illinois and how is it likely to affect residents.
“Property taxes in Illinois are too high,” Jacobs wrote recently on his Facebook campaign page. “I'm running for office to lower taxes.”
Jacobs proposes a lower and placing a hard 1 percent cap on property taxes, along with voter approval for any future property tax increases.
Asked about Illinois’ taxation problem Feb. 19, Jacobs told SW Illinois News that Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget includes all sorts of increases that will affect residents – which continues a negative trend he has seen over the years.
“I've seen people and businesses move out of the state because of it,” Jacobs said, citing last year's budget and its 32 percent increase in income taxes.
One reason that all this money is getting taken out of the taxpayer's pocket, Jacobs said, is the shifting of pensions that Illinois is having a hard time paying.
The answer, he said, in a general sense, is voting out public officials who aren't responsive to taxpayers needs.
“The people are elected,” Jacobs said of tax assessors in particular. “The people have a chance to get rid of these tax assessors they don't like.”
However, he’s not counting out the intransigence of the political process. “It is Illinois,” Jacobs said. “There is a lot of corruption.”
Also, he said, the state taxation process is largely inscrutable. “Have you ever seen one of those booklets?” Jacobs asked. “It's pretty much impossible to understand how they’re taxing things.”
Tax assessors, he said, may not have the proper qualifications.
Jacobs suggested that property tax caps and other types of financial reforms will return some vitality to the Illinois economy.
“It is time to bring some common sense tax policies to Springfield,” Jacobs said.
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