McHenry Times

Craig Wilcox said the latest bad news about Illinois' property tax crisis is all on the state's current lawmakers in Springfield. 

Property data experts ATTOM Data Solutions recently reported that 387,854 property owners across the state owe mortgages of at least 25 percent more on their loans than their property is worth.

"Our elected leaders enacted policies and approved tax hikes last year that diminish the opportunities to pursue dreams and build a family-focused life for the future," Wilcox, a retired Air Force colonel and member of the McHenry County board running to replace retiring state Sen. Pam Althoff (R-McHenry) in the 32nd District, said.  "This year they passed a budget that added spending to use up the 32 percent income tax hike revenue; they passed a budget that might be $1.5 billion out of balance; and they don’t seem to listen."

Sen. Pam Althoff (R-McHenry)

Among Illinois counties, Boone, Montgomery and Bond had the highest percentage of property owners saddled with mortgages of at least 25 percent more than their property is worth, with 2 in 5 Boone-area property owners impacted and an average of 38 percent of those in Montgomery and Bond.

Wilcox says his opponent for the Senate seat,  current McHenry County Assessor Mary Mahady, also needs to own up to her share of the responsibility. 

"My opponent has directly contributed to this problem as a township tax assessor, who may claim to advocate for reducing property taxes, however, the Democrat party is advocating for increases in the state income tax without any cuts to discretionary spending or any meaningful reforms to entitlement spending," he said. "I do not believe that this problem will be resolved by playing taxation shell games. We must demand that our elected officials change the culture down in Springfield if we are to hope to address these issues that we face."

It's not just the culture in Springfield that has to change, though. Wilcox said if the crisis is to be alleviated, lawmakers have to be willing to lower property taxes

"The equity erosion of home value due to over taxation will continue to stifle any economic rebound in Illinois if left unresolved, he said. "We must start changing our actions if we ever expect the projected outcomes to improve. Lowering property taxes would be a new lease on life for home values. Given the opportunity for homeowners to keep more of their money, home values would increase both from the alleviation of the tax burden as well as from the investments that they would have the opportunity to make on their properties."

If elected to the state legislature, Wilcox promised to "use every legislative tool available to fight for the interests of property taxpayers by working on cutting spending, reducing burdensome regulations, and eliminating unfunded mandates."

"We must champion the concept of good government again, rather than just kicking the can down the road," he said. "We must stop the snowball from rolling down the hill."