NW Illinois News

Illinois State Senator Li Arellano Jr. has announced his intention to address high property taxes in the upcoming legislative session. Arellano highlighted that Illinois homeowners paid an average property tax rate of 1.83% in 2023, which he said was the highest in the nation according to the Tax Foundation.

Arellano described how rising costs are affecting residents, including a 93-year-old widow from Dixon who had to sell her home due to increasing taxes and living expenses. He noted that rent prices have also risen, making alternatives difficult for those on fixed incomes.

He pointed out that many families and young people are leaving Illinois for more affordable states, stating that the state is losing "an entire generation." Arellano criticized Governor J.B. Pritzker and Democratic lawmakers for signing what he called "the largest budget in state history," which included nearly $1 billion in new tax increases.

"Instead of offering tax relief, Governor Pritzker and his allies signed the largest budget in state history, which included nearly $1 billion in new tax hikes and one-time gimmicks. And it does not stop there — they have pledged to continue pushing for even more, including a $1.50 delivery tax, housing tax, and digital advertising taxes, to name just a few!" Arellano said.

He argued that the current budget does not provide relief from unfunded mandates or restore cuts to Local Government Distributive Fund formulas. According to Arellano, these factors force local governments to raise property taxes as they attempt to address financial shortfalls caused by state decisions.

"And, critically for this discussion, Pritzker’s budget offers no relief from the unfunded mandates that feed into high local property taxes. Neither does it restore cuts to the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) formulas, which have forced local governments to raise property taxes. Finally, it does not seriously address Illinois’ legacy debt, which must be addressed before the state can properly invest in local infrastructure. Local government property taxes continue to go up as they desperately try to fill in all these new financial gaps caused by the state," Arellano stated.

Arellano said these issues contribute to Illinois' ongoing challenges: "These state budget failures are exactly why Illinois continues to fall behind. Rather than making government more efficient and addressing the state’s debt-damaged financial structure, Democrats choose to raise taxes on hardworking families while ignoring reforms that could lower costs and help people stay in their homes."

He concluded with a call for reform: "Illinois does not need higher taxes — especially property taxes — and bigger spending. What we need are real reforms that provide relief to homeowners and workers. I will continue fighting to make that happen!"

Arellano was elected as a Republican senator representing Illinois' 37th Senate District in 2025 after replacing Win Stoller.