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| | SR1598 | | LRB100 21515 ALS 38358 r |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, Property taxes are a form of local taxation by |
| 3 | | taxing bodies such as school districts, municipalities, park |
| 4 | | districts, library boards, and other such units of local |
| 5 | | government; and
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| 6 | | WHEREAS, No property tax dollars are paid to the state |
| 7 | | government; and
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| 8 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, |
| 9 | | about 62 percent of property tax bills go to funding school |
| 10 | | districts in Illinois; and
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| 11 | | WHEREAS, Property taxes also fund police and fire |
| 12 | | protection services, as well as park district programs and |
| 13 | | local projects; and
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| 14 | | WHEREAS, The state legislature can pass laws freezing |
| 15 | | property tax rates, but such a one-size-fits-all legislation |
| 16 | | may unjustly hurt some local communities while leaving some |
| 17 | | units of government with the excessive surpluses; and
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| 18 | | WHEREAS, A property tax freeze applies to the total |
| 19 | | property taxes collected by taxing districts, but does not mean |
| 20 | | the property taxes paid by an individual homeowner will be |
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| | SR1598 | - 2 - | LRB100 21515 ALS 38358 r |
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| 1 | | frozen; and
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, A property tax freeze leaves municipalities, |
| 3 | | school districts, police services, fire protection services, |
| 4 | | and other local government units without a means to collect |
| 5 | | additional revenue lost due to the freeze; and
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| 6 | | WHEREAS, These units of local governments, when facing |
| 7 | | increasing expenses during a property tax freeze, will be |
| 8 | | forced to implement cost-cutting measures, such as reducing the |
| 9 | | teaching staff and police force and eliminating programs; |
| 10 | | therefore, be it
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| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL |
| 12 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that by July 1, 2019, each |
| 13 | | unit of Government that receives property taxes should, during |
| 14 | | a regularly scheduled or special meeting with proper public |
| 15 | | notice, conduct a public forum to discuss the specific effects |
| 16 | | of a permanent property tax freeze or a property tax freeze for |
| 17 | | one, two, or five years; and be it further
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| 18 | | RESOLVED, That each unit of government should make every |
| 19 | | effort to fully provide projections of both revenue and |
| 20 | | expenses with a correlating analysis of services and personnel |
| 21 | | that would likely be impacted in order for the public to more |
| 22 | | fully appreciate the effects of a property tax freeze on each |