McHenry Times

Following his promised tax freeze initiative for Kane and McHenry counties, state Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-Crystal Lake) faces resistance on his home turf, with his efforts challenged by McHenry County Clerk Chief Deputy Linda Fitzgerald.

The tax freeze found a central position during Skillicorn’s successful campaign for a seat in Springfield, consistent with his track record as a trustee for the village of East Dundee, where he effectively rescued constituents from overly burdensome taxes in 2012.

According to McHenry County’s blog, Fitzgerald made the objection not in her formal capacity, but as a constituent.

During his two-term trusteeship, Allen Skillicorn succeeded in passing 2012’s "Freeze the Levy." | File image

“She was acting as a citizen,” County Clerk Mary McClellan told the blog.

"McHenry County property taxes are way too high,” Skillicorn said in response to the complaint. “Working families and seniors are being forced out of their homes because of skyrocketing property taxes."

During his two-term trusteeship, Skillicorn succeeded in passing 2012’s "Freeze the Levy." The measure stabilized taxes to 2011 levels and lowered the overall burden on East Dundee dwellers. He promised taxpayers that he would continue the good fight once elected — and he wasted no time in initiating the referendum in order to allow it to appear on April ballots.

“I find it troubling the clerk's office would work against property relief," Skillicorn said in a news release after the objection was filed. “McHenry County Clerk Mary McClellan has already denied our FOIA requests concerning this referendum challenge. I have to ask, what (are) Clerk McClellan and Chief Deputy Fitzgerald hiding?”

Skillicorn, who took his oath of office on Jan. 11, raised the question of the individual McHenry County official’s motivation and touched on the larger issue of what elected officials at the regional and local levels — having been selected to represent the taxpayers — are responsible for.

Specifically, if Fitzgerald were acting as a citizen, that distinction remains unclear. As a public official, she could have taken the step of clarifying her position to avoid confusion among constituents before issuing the declaration.

Skillicorn, meanwhile, remains undeterred.

“We will be appealing with the Attorney General's office,” he said. “Let's be crystal clear: the interests that oppose this referendum want to hike our taxes."

The petition in question is framed as a simple yes-or-no question.

“Shall each taxing body located partially or wholly within the limits of the county … be required to seek voter approval by referendum prior to increasing its annual total property tax levy?” the referenda read for Kane and McHenry counties, respectively.

The implications of the referendum query may now reach further than a simple one-word answer, as the elected representative observes resistance from a local government entity.

“My goal as state representative is to make it harder to hike property taxes on Illinois families,” Skillicorn said after his successful campaign. “I represent both Kane and McHenry counties, and my constituents pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation.”

Skillicorn made it clear throughout his campaign that he suffered no naïveté about the topic. During his tenure as a local leader, he orchestrated programs for his own jurisdiction dealing precisely with the same challenges.

“I expect special interests that prefer the status quo to oppose this effort,” Skillicorn said previously. “I want to make something perfectly clear: the interests that may oppose this referendum want to hike your taxes. Until we reform the way bureaucracy drives up costs, our property tax bills will continue going up every year, forcing working class families and seniors out of their homes. This is the first step to give that power back where it belongs … to the people. Voters deserve a chance to vote on freezing property taxes.”

The 66th Illinois House District comprises Fox River Valley from Crystal Lake to Elgin. Skillicorn grew up in Algonquin and lives in East Dundee where he and his wife, Heather, maintain active community participation.