East Central Reporter

Crawford County in Illinois has received its final property assessment equalization factor, also known as the "multiplier," for 2024 at 1.0000. This announcement was made by David Harris, the director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).

The multiplier is a tool used to ensure uniform property assessments across counties, which is essential for maintaining fairness among taxpayers, particularly in districts that encompass multiple counties. Without equalization, there would be significant disparities in taxes for properties of comparable value.

In Illinois, a law mandates that property should be assessed at one-third of its market value. However, farm properties are assessed differently; the homesites and dwellings are subject to standard assessing and equalization, while farmland is assessed based on agriculture economic value and is not subject to the state equalization factor.

For Crawford County, assessments are at 33.29% of market value, derived from 2021 to 2023 property sales data. This year's equalization factor of 1.0000 matches last year's figure and follows a public hearing on the tentative factor issued on January 29, 2025.

The equalization factor for each county is determined by evaluating the sales prices of properties over the past three years against their assessed values set by county authorities. If assessments align perfectly at one-third of market value, the factor is one (1). Deviations from this ratio influence whether the factor is above or below one.

It's important to note that changes in the equalization factor do not automatically alter total property tax bills. These are contingent on the financial needs expressed by local taxing entities. An individual property's assessed value dictates its share of the tax burden, but the multiplier does not affect this personal tax responsibility.