Property tax reform is a matter of racial equity
If you agree with me that Black Lives Matter and that dismantling inequality is important, we must continue to fix inequities in all aspects of our property tax system.
Cook County is in the midst of commemorating Racial Equity Week by examining the disparities of the past and dedicating itself to a more equitable future. I commend Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for leading this discussion each year.
As Cook County’s Assessor, my job is to value the 1.8 million properties in Cook County fairly, without bias or favoritism, by holding up a mirror to the market. While the valuation methods we use are based in data and statistics, our work nonetheless touches upon the inequities that follow historic patterns of racial segregation. The mirror reflects those inequities and is further warped if the system, as a whole, is unfair.
In the year and a half since I’ve been in office, I’ve heard from numerous Black and Latino families who are worried they cannot afford to stay in their homes. They’re confronted with a high tax bill on one hand and an underwater mortgage on the other. Of the 20 municipalities with the highest tax rates in the county, 19 are majority Black communities and the 20th is majority Latino. No other rate disparity like this exists in the U.S. It consumes whatever appreciation in home values these communities have and destroys generational wealth-building for families of color.
In the past, Cook County has seen high levels of assessment regressivity with owners of more modest properties paying more in taxes than wealthier properties. Maybe it’s hard to imagine property tax reform as social protest, but as people seek ways to stand up to injustice, reform of this system must be a part of the conversation and can no longer be hidden in plain sight.
Homeownership has been one of the fastest ways to build wealth in the United States. This is even more important for Black families who possess about a tenth of the wealth of Whites and who typically hold the majority of their wealth in their homes. Property taxes can eat up appreciation of these assets, which slows wealth creation, or worse, subtracts from it, leaving these families further behind.
I was elected to change the assessment part of our property tax system and we are making progress. My team has been working hard to fully reflect all of the value in the tax base so tax burdens are fair for all. In some communities, like the South Suburbs of Cook County, that persistently lack commercial entities that balance the burden of paying for schools and other services, the cost often still falls on poorer homeowners, regardless of the fairness of the assessment.
Our office has also made a concerted effort this year to bring in multiple sources of real estate data so we mitigate racial impacts that can exist in single sources, like the impact of foreclosures or environmental risks. We likewise focus on getting our valuations right for the average homeowner so he or she is not forced to be in a continuous loop of appeals. We also provide tools for neighborhood businesses to submit property data directly to our office. This effort ensures our assessments are more accurate than in the past, which keeps commercial entities here in the county and balances the tax burden for all.
There’s still more work to be done on closing disparities in data, which has lead to overvaluation of modest homes and small businesses. I will continue to champion a data modernization bill in the Illinois legislature, which would close many of these data gaps.
While our office does not have jurisdiction over municipal tax levies, I can say that increased federal and state support for school funding will help reduce the tax burden paid by homeowners and local “mom and pop” businesses while also reducing racial disparities in schools and community services.
Our state provides the lowest level of funding for education of any state in the nation. The Fair Tax, championed by Governor Pritzker, is one way to reverse this trend. But an increase in the federal government’s Title 1 funding for schools, which hasn’t increased significantly since Lyndon Johnson was President, is the most direct way to decrease property taxes. If we doubled the current $300 million in Title 1 funding for Chicago’s public schools and CPS passed this savings onto ratepayers, its levy would be reduced by 10 percent. That’s a significant savings for property owners.
If you agree with me that Black Lives Matter and that dismantling inequality is important, we must continue to fix inequities in all aspects of our property tax system. I am proud to stand with all those who are committed to racial equity and fairness so that everyone has the same ability to prosper.
