Overtaxed by design

It’s no secret that the value of your house has dropped as a result of the recession. A 30-40% drop is not unusual.

So, why doesn't your tax bill reflect a 30-40% drop in "Fair Cash Value?" Is Elgin somehow immune to the forces of economics? Well, we know that’s not true. Elgin has been a hotbed of foreclosures.

Here's what the Kane County Treasurer is saying my house is worth.

Do you see a nosedive in my property values in 2005? Neither do I. In fact, here it is 2011 and they are showing only a modest dip in what my home is worth.

Maybe the tax man can’t get current data from which to calculate the value of your home. Well, that’s not true either. Every real estate transaction and refi is recorded at the county. That’s a core service of county government.

So why does Zillow, a private company that gets all the data from real estate transactions, foreclosures, tax bills, and refi values from the same source (Kane County) come up with far different numbers than the ones that appear on your tax bill?

Here's what Zillow says has been happening in Elgin and to MY home over the last decade:


And here you see the percent of value change from year to year. The green line is how my home value has changed according to my tax bill and the blue line is the REAL market change.

Over a ten year period, the Kane County tax man says my home has gone up by 58%. But the REAL cash value of my home is only 6% higher! Quite a difference.

Now, the tax man says the change in value can lag by three years due to the assessment cycle. Even that isn't true, as the charts above reveal.

But try to get an explanation and you get this:
The city proudly boasts that our tax rate hasn't gone up in 20 years.
The county board tells you they don't assess your property.
The assessor says he doesn't set the rate of your taxes.
The county treasurer says he only sends out the bills, based on the figures he was given.
The county recorder only records transactions.

If you want something done, you must do it yourself. First, you need to see if your "Fair Cash Value" is far higher than your house would sell for these days. You will then need to pay $300-400 to have a real estate appraisal done. (NOTE: You do NOT need a lawyer or a specialist to do this for you.)

Take the paperwork to the township assessors office at the Elgin Township building on South McLean Blvd and show them that they have been charging you too much property tax. They will reduce your bill NEXT year. They will NOT rebate what they've been overcharging you all these years.

Now, it's OK for the state to skip payments. It's OK for federal block grants to dry up. But you have to beg for an honest tax bill...because you're just the lowly old citizen and if you don't pay up, the Sheriff will sell your house for taxes.

Welcome to Illinois...

...a sanctuary state.

They did it. The Illinois House passed the "Smart Enforcement Law," effectively unplugging the ICE screening process from the county jails. The Secure Communities program is sure to be discontinued in Kane and Lake Counties, since Sheriffs Pat Perez and Mark Curran were front men for the charade.

It is really a shame when they turn their backs on the oath of office.

News coverage here:
http://dailyherald.com/article/20110506/news/705069878//

Roll call here:
http://dailyherald.com/article/20110506/news/705069876/

Keith Farnham was true to his word and voted against it.

Now, on to the Senate, which means Mike Noland will get a shot at it.
No doubt he's all for any measure that makes it easier for illegal aliens to live here.

Ironic, isn't it.

In the wake of the death of bin Laden, on May 2nd Homeland Security issues a press release telling us that they are cooperating with state and local law enforcement agencies to maintain "a heightened state of vigilance."
Then, on May 4th Governor Quinn sends them a letter telling them that the Illinois State Police will not cooperate with them on the Secure Communities program.

This just in...

Farnham responds:

Hi Doug,

Rep. Farnham asked me to respond to your email. He is against HB 929, which would allow counties to opt out of the Secure Communities Act. He is hopeful that the federal government will get its act together and develop a comprehensive immigration plan. It is important for the federal government to play a central role in implementing a nationwide system, rather than having a patchwork of plans among states.

If you have any other questions please send me your contact number and I'll have Rep. Farnham call you to discuss further.

Thank you.

--
Marty McCormack
Legislative and Community Outreach Coordinator

I guess the key to getting a response is to tell him you're going to blog about it.

His position isn't very bold, given the fact that Quinn has neutered the ICE program with his recent letter.

Insecure Communities

The politicians in Springfield have always had a soft spot for illegal aliens.

For example,

· Illinois is one of only ten states that give in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens.

· Illinois banned the use of E-Verify. It took a lawsuit by the Feds to rescind that ban.

· Illinois is the ONLY state in the nation that forbids municipalities from using E-Verify with their contractors, although the Feds REQUIRE E-Verify of all businesses doing business with Washington.

· Illinois has spent billions of dollars providing free health care to illegal aliens under the AllKids program.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we are now sending official signals to Washington that they are deporting TOO MANY illegal aliens from Illinois.

Yesterday, May 4^th, Governor Quinn sent a letter to ICE telling them that Illinois will no longer participate in the Secure Communities program. Why? Because it deports too many people who have not been convicted of a violent crime.

Are they illegal aliens? Yes. Have they been correctly identified? Yes. Were they brought to a county jail as a suspect in a crime. Yes. Is there evidence of racial profiling? No.

But since he feels they are law-abiding illegal aliens, he doesn’t want them deported.

Now, a little background on Secure Communities. It was introduced by Homeland Security late in the Bush administration (Spring of 2008) and was to be rolled out in stages. First, they would set up shop in the county jails in areas known to have a high concentration of illegal aliens.

They tap into the fingerprint scanners at these county jails and check the records of known illegal aliens in real-time. They then put an immigration hold on that person.

Once the county is done with the perp, ICE is contacted. Now, was he convicted? Sometimes not. Depending on the States Attorney or the judge or some plea bargain or the capacity of the jail that day, maybe he wasn’t convicted.

And often ICE has no room at the inn, so he is released. At the end of the day, Secure Communities as it is currently funded cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered to be picking up innocent illegal aliens off the streets and deporting them.

But Quinn has nixed the program. Note also that Springfield is working hard to get counties to opt out of Secure Communities in a misnamed bill called “Smart Enforcement Act.”

It should come as no surprise that Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez is a staunch supporter of the bill.

As for our Rep, Keith Farnham, I asked him for information on the bill on March 31, April 1 and April 15. I have not heard back from him. Perhaps YOU should send him an e-mail as well. He's at krfarnham@gmail.com

You’ll also be pleased to know that in honor of Cinco de Mayo Springfield has enhanced the illegal alien in-state tuition program to include participation in scholarships and the college savings program.

Welcome to Illinois, a Sanctuary State. (Also broke, overtaxed and overextended.)

Links to articles:

About Quinn’s letter to ICE

www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-fingerprintingimm,0,6075609.story

About the in-state tuition changes

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110504/news/705049852//