McHenry Times

State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, gains strength from all Springfield’s past failures on the property tax front.

“I don’t plan on stopping until we’ve done something for the people of this state in terms of bringing some relief,” Ugaste told the McHenry Times. “I’m trying to improve the situation, so it’s whatever it takes.”

With a new WalletHub report again concluding that Illinois is now home to the second-highest property taxes in the country, behind only New Jersey, Ugaste knows his job won’t be easy.

Researchers found the average property taxes on a $205,000 home in Illinois were $4,700, or almost three times as much as the taxes on a home in Kentucky or Indiana valued at the same price.

“This is the kind of list you never want to be at the top of,” Ugaste said. “It’s bad enough that taxes are so high in Illinois, and the fact that they're this high and we’re still not solving any problems all makes it worse.”

Ugaste notes all of it has come at a steep price, with Illinois also leading the country in outbound out-migration over the last decade.

“I and others have filed bills to help lower property taxes,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll get the support they need, but that remains to be seen. I’m still talking to colleagues trying to get as much support for them as I can.”

Ugaste was part of the 88-member Property Tax Relief Task Force convened by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last summer that many have branded a major disappointment. The panel disbanded without issuing a final report after Republican members refused to sign off on a draft report they insist did not incorporate any of their ideas or adequately address structural reforms.

“The task force did not issue a final report and did not convene again to vote on recommendations, so in that sense it didn’t meet expectations,” Ugaste said.