NW Illinois News

Stephenson County has received a final property assessment equalization factor of 1.0165, as announced by David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. This factor, often known as the "multiplier," is a method used to ensure uniform property assessments across counties, fulfilling a legal requirement. This uniformity is particularly essential as many of the state's local taxing districts, such as school and fire protection districts, extend across multiple counties. Without equalization, significant disparities would arise among taxpayers with similar properties.

In Illinois, a 1975 law mandates that property assessments should be at one-third of the market value. However, farm properties are evaluated differently, with farm homesites and dwellings following regular assessing and equalization procedures. In contrast, farmland is appraised at one-third of its agricultural economic value and does not fall under the state equalization factor.

Stephenson County assessments register at 32.79% of market value, derived from property sales data from 2021 to 2023. The current equalization factor is assigned for 2024 taxes, which will come due in 2025. The county's previous year's equalization factor was 1.0380.

The final assessment equalization factor follows a public hearing, after the tentative factor of 1.0165 was issued on January 2, 2025. Annually, the equalization factor is determined for each county by comparing the sale prices of properties over the past three years against the assessments made by the county supervisor or assessor.

When the average three-year assessment level is one-third of the market value, the equalization factor is one. If it exceeds one-third, the factor will be less, and if it falls below one-third, the factor will be greater.

A change in the equalization factor does not necessarily mean property taxes will rise or fall. Tax bills are set by local taxing bodies based on the funds they request each year for providing local services. Even if assessments increase, overall taxes will not rise if the amount requested by local districts does not exceed previous years. The assessed value of an individual's property defines their share of the tax burden, which remains unchanged by the multiplier.