Suburbs w/ highest and lowest property taxes

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The total population of Oak Brook is only important if one were to examine the relative costs of running the municipal government, on a per capita basis a SMALLER town ought to need relatively higher taxes as the cost per resident would be higher.

In Illinois there is a system of funding local municipal operations that relies in large part of the portion of LOCAL SALES TAXES that flow back to the municipality from activity that generates sales taxes, Oak Brook is home to one of the most successful high end retail malls in the whole nation as well as a very high volume retail corridor that includes merchants like Costco, Nordstrom Rack and several upper tier furniture sellers like Room & Board -- as such significant revenues are available for its municipal operation.

The system of funding local schools that is in place for MOST of Illinois relies heavily on the value of all property that is part of the district. The kind of home owners that are attracted to Oak Brook tend to be rather different than even those in nearby towns, some of which have school districts that extend into portions of Oak Brook --generally speaking there are far more school aged children per given AREA in towns like Hinsdale, Elmhurst, and Downers Grove, thus the low residential density is itself a BIG factor in the relatively small enrollment of D53 which serves the lowest taxed portion of Oak Brook. Folks unfamiliar with the boundaries of the schools surrounding Oak Brook do not know that most of the real estate that comprises Oakbrook Center Mall actually supports Salt Creek Schools, the attendance area of which is largely relatively affordable Oakbrook Terrace and unincorporated Villa Park. The relative value of "office towers" is rather modest in Oak Brook, as the style / value of such building inside Oak Brook is frankly not very competitive even with office buildings in other suburbs that are newer / more desirable. Even "campus style" offices in Oak Brook do not command as much rent as there are is currently a glut of such space as firms rethink their need to have large amounts of real estate. That motivation many firms to relocate is very likely driven MORE by a desire to reduce headcount / get out of their real estate holdings than any "cover story" or wanting "hipper digs"...

There is likely to be NO REAL IMPACT on taxes in Oak Brook when McDonalds sells its office buildings and training campus. Redevelopment of those parcels either into more modern office sites or residential developments will only increase their value / potential for property tax revenues.

This is in stark contrast to the slums of Chicago where even intensive efforts to increase property values is often fruitless and TIFS / insider deals leave Chicago Public Schools highly dependent on tapping into INCOME TAX REVENUE paid by all citizens of Illinois. The way that the system is gamed by insiders who get the tax bills of large property owners reduced is especially egregious in Cook Co, where the relative burden shifted when from the multi-tiered property tax system that penalizes industrial / commercial uses put even more stress on a system that clearly is not working http://james46.org/wp-content/upload...Tax-Bills1.pdf

To the bolded -- this is one of the reasons why we refer to it as "the state of Chicago".