East Central Reporter

Edgar County has been assigned a final property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, as announced by David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR). This factor, commonly referred to as the "multiplier," is used to ensure uniform property assessments across counties in Illinois.

The equalization process is crucial for maintaining fairness among taxpayers with similar properties, especially since many of the state's local taxing districts extend over multiple counties. Without such equalization, disparities could arise.

In Illinois, a law from 1975 mandates that properties be assessed at one-third of their market value. However, farm properties are treated differently; while farm homesites and dwellings follow regular assessing procedures, farmland is assessed based on its agricultural economic value and not subject to the state equalization factor. Currently, assessments in Edgar County stand at 33.49% of market value based on property sales data from 2021 through 2023.

The equalization factor for Edgar County applies to taxes for the year 2024, payable in 2025. The previous year's factor was also set at 1.0000. This decision followed a public hearing on a tentative factor issued earlier this year on March 21st.

Annually determined for each county, the equalization factor compares individual property sale prices over three years against their assessed values by county assessors. If assessments average one-third of market value over this period, the multiplier remains one (1). Deviations above or below this threshold result in factors less than or greater than one (1), respectively.

It's important to note that changes in the equalization factor do not directly impact total property tax bills; these are determined by local taxing bodies' annual financial requests for services provided to citizens. If these requests do not exceed previous amounts received, overall taxes remain stable even if assessments rise.

An individual's share of tax responsibility is dictated by their property's assessed value relative to others and remains unaffected by changes in the multiplier.