Lawmaker cites system disparities
Bill would help prevent homeowners losing properties due to back taxes
A south suburban legislator said she is working to gain support for legislation in Springfield that she hopes will help address disparities in Cook County’s sale of tax delinquent properties that she says affects communities of color.
State Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin, D-Matteson, said the bill, introduced last month, would give county homeowners who are behind on property taxes and at risk of losing their homes a chance to keep their properties.
Her legislation, House Bill 1238, and corresponding legislation in the Senate introduced by Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, would allow taxpayers the opportunity to catch up on delinquent tax bills, which Meyers-Martin said has been a big obstacle for homeowners in the south and southwest suburbs.
Under the current system, homeowners who want to avoid having their home sold for back taxes have to pay the full amount of taxes owed, plus interest and penalties, which can be a daunting challenge, Meyers-Martin said.
“The disparities have to do with if you become delinquent, you have to be able to pay that delinquent bill in full before the tax sale,” she said. “This would create a payment plan, which would give many more homeowners the opportunity to stay in their homes.”
Organizations including Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and Housing Action Illinois are among those supporting the initiative.
Meyers-Martin said the number of people losing their homes in her district is “relatively high” because of disproportionately higher property tax rates compared with other Cook County suburban areas.
Homes being lost to the tax sale is just one piece of a larger problem, she said.
“We haven’t solved the major property tax issue but we are trying to address it on many fronts,” Meyers-Martin said Tuesday. “It is imperative we try to do what we can do incrementally until we can address that property tax issue overall.”
Her bill was introduced Jan. 18 in the House, and the Senate bill was introduced Jan. 20. For now, both bills are being evaluated in committee.
Peters’ district includes all or parts of Chicago communities
such as the East Side, Hyde Park, Kenwood and South Chicago.
Meyers-Martin’s 38th District includes all or parts of Country Club Hills, Flossmoor, Frankfort, Hazel Crest, Park Forest, Richton Park and Tinley Park, among other suburbs.
She said she has worked with Housing Action Illinois and “we are constantly trying to address the ills of outrageous property taxes in the Southland.”
Meyers-Martin said the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding loss of jobs and income have made it harder for families in communities of color to keep current with tax bills, which the present tax sale system makes worse.
Meyers-Martin said the tax sale measure has support from the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, and she is confident of passage.
She said she believes her bill and Peters’ legislation will gain support because they don’t require a forgiveness of property taxes owed to taxing bodies.
“We’re not affecting the budget at all,” she said. “We are just allowing another option for people who have fallen into delinquency to stay in their homes, and at the end of the day that is what we want, to keep people in their homes.”