South Central Reporter

Illinois state Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham) points to a new Federal Housing Finance Agency report on the housing market as an example of how dangerously predictable Springfield has become.

“It’s systematic of the problems we’re facing in Illinois,” Wilhour told the South Cook News of the findings that average home values in Illinois have fallen 21 percent while property tax rates climbed by at least 9 percent over the last decade. “The thing is, all of our liabilities are going up while our tax base is going down and there’s no movement in Springfield to do anything about it.”

The Illinois Policy Institute adds that all the taxation has come at a time when the state is still reeling from the impact of the last housing-market crash, which left home values across the state 300 percent worse than the national average.

“I talk about it all the time," Wilhour said. "Until we address these cost drivers, which primarily are pensions and the sheer volume of government, until those systems are dealt with in a meaningful manner, you will continue to see things like this happen. We need real pension reform and we need to reduce the size of government, and that’s going to take some tough decisions.”

 As a result, at least in part, total population across the state has dipped in each of the last five years as more Illinois taxpayers reach their limit.

“There has to be a willingness in Springfield to deal with these issues,” Wilhour said. “As long as there is no electoral accountability on this stuff, they’re not going to deal with it. Bottom line, until we get a party that’s willing to stand toe to toe with special-interest groups, nothing’s going to happen that changes anything.”