Chicago Is about to Tax the Poor Into Oblivion

Of course they are taxing everyone into oblivion. From Illinois Policy: Massive property tax hikes hurt Chicago’s low-income families

Property tax bills are about to spike for tens of thousands of Chicago homeowners.

A new investigation from Illinois Answers and the Chicago Tribune found assessments doubled or even tripled for more than 37,000 homes on the South and West Sides, setting the stage for punishing tax bills this fall. In Englewood, Roseland and North Lawndale, median assessments jumped between 119% and 160%, far outpacing the 22% citywide median.

It isn't just people who own property. Rents will go up as landlords try to keep their heads above water.

Why is this happening?

These assessment spikes don’t exist in a vacuum. Property taxes are the primary funding source for local governments. Chicago continues to seek out more funding rather than lowering spending.

Stop spending 10s of millions on illegal aliens? Stop spending on politicians' favorite programs? Not is Chicago.

Chicago sees 80% of the property taxes go toward its growing pension debt. Rather than seeking to control spending, Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed a “pension sweetener” for Chicago police and firefighters that will increase liabilities by $11.1 billion.

If you want to see more info on the pension insanity, see this post from Meep at STUMP.

I expect to see the whole system implode soon. I'm not alone when it comes to that. "If something can’t go on forever, it won’t."