The second-term mayor last week proposed a $544 million property tax increase, the city's biggest ever, to help fix one of the worst-funded city pension systems in America and vowed "struggling" homeowners, whose residences are worth $250,000 or less, would not see an increase.
But details from the mayor's office on Wednesday showed Emanuel's definition of "struggling" extends far beyond Chicago's famed bungalow belt to include nearly 290,000 homes. For the first time, the mayor's office is saying those homeowners actually would profit from his dramatic city-wide tax increase plan.
A new analysis Emanuel's administration circulated among city aldermen predicted that homeowners living in properties valued at $250,000 or less would experience "little or no increase" from the tax hike and that "most" would see their taxes drop.
The owner of such a home would see their tax bill drop by $140, or 3 percent, with the tax cut rising as home values drop. By contrast, the owner of a $500,000 home would see a $195 reduction, or 24 percent drop, in property taxes under the mayor's plan, his office's analysis showed.
Word that so many city homeowners stand to escape the reach of the mayor's property-tax hike and some will even get cuts has angered business groups.