McHenry Times

Illinois state Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) has a clear view of what he wants to accomplish as a member of the state's newly assembled Property Tax Relief Task Force.

“I hope to help lower property taxes for the people of the state of Illinois because they're getting killed,” Ugaste told the McHenry Times. “We need to look at consolidation where it makes sense and where savings will truly be made. We need to look at such things as what obligations the state should be meeting that it's not and passing [that] on to local units of government.”

Appointed to the bipartisan task force by House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), Ugaste said that will be only the beginning.

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs)

“I think we should also be looking at all the unfunded mandates that have been passed on to local governments that force them to raise property taxes,” he said. “More than just coming up with ideas, we really need to be acting because having a commission and identifying things is one thing but actually acting upon them is another.”

The task force is expected to present its list of recommendations to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the General Assembly within 90 days, with a final report due to be submitted by the end of the year.

“This is extremely important and I will say if we don’t do something about easing the tax burden on people, with property taxes being one of the largest burdens, we will lose even more population," Ugaste said. "It’s critical that we do something about property taxes, whether we do it through this commission or not. One way another, it needs to happen."

Ugaste’s 65th District encompasses parts of northwestern Kane and southern McHenry Counties, including Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Hampshire, Huntley, Pingree Grove, Batavia and Geneva.