Kendall County Times

Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) said the responses he got to a Facebook post on Illinois’ high property taxes say everything that needs to be said about the exodus of residents from the state.

“Those Facebook commenters may be onto something significant,” Wheeler said on his website. ”Without prompting, they are pointing to a critical reason why Illinois’ population is shrinking while the national population is growing.  Excessive property taxes are sending families looking for more cost-effect alternatives.”

Wheeler said lllinoisans are paying some of the the highest property taxes in the country when considered as a proportion of property value, at 2.3 percent, which is second only to New Jersey, at 2.35 percent. Wheeler also argued that due to artificially low property taxes around Chicago, that figure is likely higher in his district of Kendall and Kane counties. Using two homes that he owns as examples, Wheeler showed one with property taxes representing 2.74 percent of its value and the other representing 3.42 percent.

Wheeler offered examples of some of the comments he received.

"My husband and I will also be leaving Illinois in the very near future if our property taxes are not frozen (at a minimum) or lowered," one comment read, Wheeler said. "We live in a modest house built in the 1950's and should not be paying what people in other states pay in taxes for modern mansions."