Kendall County Times

State Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-North Aurora) said a new law will help Kendall County's judicial facilities keep up with their increased workload without having to raise property taxes. Wheeler sponsored the legislation, which Gov. Pritzker recently signed into law.

“Kendall County was the fastest growing county in the United States during the first decade of the new millennium and the fastest growing county in Illinois from 2010 to 2020, placing a strain on the ability of our courthouse to handle the increased case load in a timely and efficient manner,” Wheeler said. “With this new law, Kendall County will enjoy the same ability as Kane and Will Counties to assess a nominal fee for civil and criminal cases that will go toward building additional judicial facilities, which will prevent property taxes from going up and at the same time make our local courts more efficient.”

Wheeler introduced Senate Bill 3737 earlier this spring, and Gov. Pritzker signed the bill into law last week, according to a press release. SB 3737 will allow Kendall County to charge litigants in civil and criminal cases a $30 fee. The fee will go into the county's Judicial Department Facilities Construction Fund.

Kendall County experienced a high level of growth between 2010 and 2020, Shaw Local reported. According to census data, the population of the county grew from 114,736 in 2010 to 131,869 in 2020, an increase of 14.9%. Yorkville attracted the most new residents out of any municipality in the county, growing from 16,921 to 21,533.

Kendall County's property tax rate was 0.4127% as of 2021, according to the Kendall Appraisal District.