Piecemeal fixes to the state’s property-tax problem have failed. It’s time to give the purse strings back to average Illinoisans.

Illinois stands out in the Midwest for unaffordable housing – 34 percent of Illinois households spend more than 30 cents per dollar of income on housing, more than any other state in the region.

Expect Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s call for property tax hikes to be a boon for Chicago’s collar counties and Lake County, Ind. Cook County residents have been fleeing to neighboring counties for decades, and Emanuel’s proposed hikes – to prop up city pensions – will only increase the outflow. According to IRS data, Cook County lost...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pension reform scheme passed through the General Assembly this week and has been moved to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk. This plan authorizes Chicago to raise $2.25 billion in additional property taxes over the next decade. Despite this massive tax hike, the city will raise only half its legally required pension payments. Hiking...

Michael Jordan may have paid $178,900 in property taxes on his Highland Park home in 2012. But his property taxes aren’t even enough to cover the annual pension of Highland Park’s highest-compensated retired Teachers’ Retirement System member. Linda Hanson, 66, is a former Highland Park Township High School District 113 superintendent who has been retired...

Illinois’ property tax rates have skyrocketed since 2010. The average property tax rate as a percent of home value has soared from 1.93 percent in 2010 to 2.28 percent in 2012. This represents an 18 percent property tax rate increase in just two years. This rate spike is due to declining home values and local taxing bodies increasing property tax levies....

Michael Jordan paid nearly $200,000 in property taxes in 2012 on his Highland Park home. And now, he’s having trouble getting the property off his hands. Interested buyers had the opportunity to own the six-time NBA champion’s 56,000 square foot Highland Park home at auction on Monday – if they had $250,000 to throw down...

Illinois’ property tax rates have skyrocketed since 2010, according to new analysis done by the Tax Policy Center. The survey examined the 23 Illinois counties with populations exceeding 65,000. The average property tax rates as a percent of home value has soared from 1.93 percent in 2010 to 2.28 percent in 2012. This represents an 18 percent property...

Statistics show Illinois is a high-tax state. Ironically, advocates of tax hikes across the state often argue that Illinois is a low-tax state. The people have a right to know the truth about Illinois’ tax environment.