95th District State Representative Mike Coffey of Springfield says that Illinois government needs to address high property taxes.
Coffey is calling on immediate action on what he says is a crisis for homeowners in the state: “Our property taxes are amongst the highest in the country. And, so as a state legislature, we have got to get in there and figure out how we are going to reduce the tax burden on Illinois residents. One, it’s driving people out of the state, as we’ve got the biggest outward migration of any state in the union. We’ve got to figure it out. The biggest reason is because of our tax situation. We’ve got to figure out how we reduce property taxes because they are killing people. I just talked to a constituent that got their new insurance rates and their new property tax bill. It’s gone up $500/month for a house. They weren’t planning on that. So what are we going to do as a legislature to stop and curb these property tax increases? It’s terrible.”
Coffey says that the Democratic Party of Illinois has failed to cross the aisle and have conversations to help reduce the state’s property tax burden, despite legislation being filed by Republicans within the last year.
Coffey hopes that public outcry will be heard and seen by the continued outmigration seen heaviest on the state’s eastern and western borders.