Allan Luzbetak

Allan Luzbetak has lived in the Lockport, Illinois area for decades; but concerns over rising property taxes could push him out of the state as he enters retirement. He explains his disappointment with community leaders’ approach to spending, and why it tempts so many people in situations like his to leave the state.

“I’ve lived in this house for 22 years. I’m getting close to paying off the mortgage, but every year, I get that notice: ‘there’s a shortage in your escrow.’ And my monthly payment has gone up, because property taxes have gone up.”

“When I first purchased this house, my payment was $1,100. Now I’m up over $1,500. That’s $400 more every month. A little of that is homeowner’s insurance, but most of it is taxes.”

“I just retired. May 16 was my last day on the job. So, from here on out, I’ll be living on social security and my 401(k) – fixed income. I’m concerned about more tax increases.”

“There are certain things I don’t mind paying for – public safety like police and fire is very important to fund. But they only get a small percentage.”

“Most of the money goes to the schools, but the schools don’t use that money well.”

“Back in 2008 or so, they wanted to build a new high school. Without a public referendum, they went ahead and bought the land. Well, the public ended up voting it down; when the market turned down in 2008, there was not really a need for a new school.”

“More recently, they wanted an $85 million referendum to renovate the existing school, but that $85 million had a lot more want than need in it.”

“They wanted to decrease the number of classrooms they had – tear out all the walls and make each classroom larger. Not only is that a lot of money to make one less classroom, but it only would have added maybe 20 square feet to each remaining classroom.”

“When they were trying to pass the referendum for this, they held a public tour to show the public why they needed all this. For me at least, it had the opposite effect. They said they needed to make a meeting room for teachers, and I said, ‘Aren’t we having a meeting right now?’ We were in the auditorium.”

“Right now, I’m not sure if I will be here long enough to finish paying off the mortgage. The plan is to move to Virginia to be closer to my son and grandkids.”

“Property taxes will be much more reasonable in Virginia. But if my son wasn’t there, I would probably still be looking to leave Illinois. Maybe for Arizona or somewhere.”

“I’ve personally known probably over 80 people that have packed up and left the state.”

“The thing that makes property taxes different that other taxes is that you’re stuck – they can go up every year and there’s nothing you can really do to cut back that cost. And if you can’t pay, they can seize your home.”

“For all that, I don’t feel like I’m getting much value for my money from the government.”

Allan Luzbetak
Retired Mechanical Engineer
Lockport, Illinois