East Central Reporter

It hasn’t taken freshmen state Rep. Chris Miller, R-Oakland, long to understand the ways of Springfield.

“No one is serious about fixing anything and I’ve come to realize things work just like they're intended to,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “They try to create the illusion they care by creating task forces and that’s really only about taking your attention off what’s really going on.”

Miller argues the 88-member Property Tax Relief Task Force convened by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in early 2019 is a perfect example of that.

“All that fanfare, all that buildup and what did it accomplish,” he said. “Just more smoke and mirrors.”

Indeed, a new WalletHub report again finds Illinois is now home to the second-highest property taxes in the country, trailing only behind New Jersey. Researchers noted the average property taxes on a $205,000 home in Illinois stands at $4,700, compared to just over one-third of that, or $1,760, for a home valued at the same price in neighboring Kentucky or Indiana.

“Property tax reform takes strong resolve, real solutions and answers,” Miller said. “Springfield doesn’t really strive to provide any of that. We’ve allowed the American dream of owning a home to become a nightmare for people with the way we’ve allowed taxes to get so out of control.”

Miller laments Pritzker’s task force dissolved without reaching any consensus or even issuing a report when Republican members refused to sign off on a draft accounting amid complaints none of their recommendations or suggestions were seriously considered by the Democratic-controlled panel.

“Everyone knows the driver of everything is our out-of-control pensions and we still refuse to even talk about that,” Miller said. “It’s the elephant in the room and until we deal with that, everything else is fruitless.”