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| Economy | |
| Property taxes are forcing Illinoisans out of their homes | |
| 2006-10-15 | |
| [ChicagoTribune] Pardess Mitchell is watching her community crumble. She and her husband have lived in Lake County for 16 years. They pay more in property taxes than they do on their mortgage. The tax bill is $15,000 a year on a house they bought for $227,000 in 2013. "They're taxing us out of the neighborhood. They're pushing us out. They're pushing us out of our homes and communities," she said. "If it continues this way we'll have to leave." A Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll released Oct. 10 revealed nearly half of registered Illinois voters said they would leave the state if they could. Many have left already. Take Alex Schmidt. He was born and raised in Illinois. He never thought his first child would be born a Texan. But in May, Schmidt and his wife left Illinois for Houston. He said taxes drove them out. He couldn't take another hike in his property tax bill: It was $12,000 on a Highland Park home. "As soon as I had to get a property tax attorney a light bulb went off," he said. "What am I doing?" Outside Houston, the Schmidts live in a house 50 percent larger with a smaller property tax bill than their Illinois home. The schools are even better than what they left behind. And Texas doesn't have an income tax. So Alex got a raise.
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| Posted by:Besoeker |