It's time to talk revenues and reforms for a better Illinois - Metropolitan Planning Council

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It's time to talk revenues and reforms for a better Illinois

Last week, MPC President MarySue Barrett spoke with Bill Cameron on WLS-AM 890's "Connected to Chicago" podcast on Illinois' much-disliked property tax, other revenue streams, and government streamlining.

Image courtesy @billjcameron

"States vary, but we in Illinois are more dependent on the property tax to fund services. So when people feel the pain, they really feel the pain" — MarySue Barrett

It's no wonder taxpayers feel burdened by property taxes when Illinois spends more than twice the next State on school administration costs. Last Friday, MPC President MarySue Barrett chatted with Bill Cameron on how switching to a more efficient system that shares costs between school districts can lead to an improvement in services, including property tax relief. As MarySue puts it, "that means dollars going back to the classroom and dollars going back to the taxpayer." 

On the "Connected to Chicago" podcast, MarySue touched on the newly assembled state-level Property Tax Relief Task Force and MPC's Transform Illinois Awards earlier this month, which recognized Representative Rita Mayfield (D-60th District) and Senator Sue Rezin (R-38th District) for their work on school district streamlining. Other highlights include MarySue's statements on:

Single purpose governments: "When you think about single purpose governments, I believe it comes from a good place... but the practical impact is that each one of those separate tax districts... ends up leading to much higher costs for administration."

MPC's #TransformIllinois agenda: "We at MPC are focused on taming the abundance of governments, getting those in check, and [advocating] for service sharing [among school districts]."

To listen in, check out the podcast here

For a deeper dive into property tax reform and restructuring school district administrative funding, read MPC Associate Adam Slade's post on the blog here.

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