East Central Reporter

Jasper County has been assigned a final property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, according to David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR). The equalization factor, commonly known as the "multiplier," ensures uniform property assessments across counties, as mandated by law. This process is crucial for maintaining equity among taxpayers with similar properties in overlapping local taxing districts such as school and fire protection districts.

In Illinois, property should be assessed at one-third of its market value under a law enacted in 1975. However, farm properties are assessed differently; farm homesites and dwellings follow regular procedures while farmland is assessed at one-third of its agricultural economic value and not subject to state equalization.

Assessments in Jasper County currently stand at 33.15% of market value based on sales data from 2021 through 2023. The newly assigned equalization factor applies to taxes for the year 2024, payable in 2025. Last year's factor was also set at 1.0000.

The final assessment factor followed a public hearing on the tentative factor issued on April 29, 2025, which was also set at 1.0000. Each county's annual equalization factor is determined by comparing property sale prices over three years to their assessed values by county assessors.

The multiplier does not directly affect total property tax bills; these are decided by local taxing bodies based on their annual funding requests for services. If these requests do not exceed previous amounts received, total property taxes remain unchanged even if assessments rise.

An individual's share of the tax burden depends on their property's assessed value and remains unaffected by changes in the multiplier.