HR0929 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0929 LRB104 22063 MST 38179 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The property tax system has produced systemic inequities that disproportionately burden communities through regressive assessment practices, thereby imposing higher effective tax rates on those with the least wealth; and

WHEREAS, These inequities contribute to a documented "financial death spiral", characterized by rising tax burdens, forced out-migration, declining property values, and the erosion of community wealth and stability; and

WHEREAS, Exploitative tax sale practices, including provisions that allow private investors to extract profits from delinquent taxes while shifting risk back to the public, drain resources from schools and local governments while destabilizing vulnerable communities; and

WHEREAS, The reliance on local property taxes as the primary funding source for public education perpetuates structural inequality, effectively tying the quality of a child's education to neighborhood wealth rather than guaranteeing equal protection under the law; and

WHEREAS, This system undermines the ability of families to build and preserve generational wealth through homeownership, contributing to persistent racial wealth gaps; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois Department of Revenue, in consultation with the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of phasing out the use of property taxes as a funding source for school districts and replacing that revenue with other State and local revenue streams; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.