South Central Reporter

It’s not a question of if Illinois homeowners' property taxes will rise, it’s about when and by how much.

That’s the view of Christopher Hicks when asked his thoughts on the belief of Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner that local governments will seek to replace tax revenue from commercial properties by hiking property taxes for homeowners, as they said in their June 26 Wirepoints article.

“The lockdown has left many businesses and commercial properties with reduced or no income for months, bringing down the economic value of their properties,” Dabrowski and Klinger said in the Wirepoints article. “Many owners can be expected to appeal their property assessments to reflect that reality. Commercial and office space in downtown Chicago and other suburban areas will also see their assessments drop as businesses shrink their footprint going forward. Nationwide, over 74% of CFOs plan to permanently shift some employees to only work remotely post-coronavirus, according to a recent Gartner survey.”

Hicks told South Central Reporter he thinks the forecast is accurate.

“Property taxes going up in Illinois will definitely happen, the question is just a matter of how much,” he told South Central Reporter. “The coronavirus pandemic will be used as a political tool in order to justify taking more money out of the pockets of the taxpayer.”

Hicks said it doesn’t have to happen. There are options for public officials, but they are reluctant to even consider them.

“Governments could avoid the outcome of even higher residential property taxes if they would tighten the belt and stop all unnecessary spending,” he told South Central Reporter. “Unfortunately, we have seen time after time more broken promises when it comes to property tax relief in Illinois. Just recently, two bills were filed in the House to delay property tax payments (HB 5768 and 5772) and both are currently in committee at this time. As a sign of good faith, the progressive income tax question should be removed from the November ballot.”

Hicks said the elephant in the room is the billions in unfunded pension payments hanging over Illinois. That must be addressed at some point.

“The most needed cut that will provide a huge financial relief for Illinois taxpayers would be constitutional pension reform,” he told South Central Reporter. “The never-ending cycle of property tax hikes and other taxing schemes can be attributed to the mountain of pension debt Illinois faces. To see any cuts in Illinois would be a miracle. Until financial and pension reform occurs in Illinois, the possibility of any type of tax breaks or cuts is simply not realistic.”

That’s why higher property taxes are almost inevitable, in his view.

“With the dismal track record local governments have in Illinois of putting their own interests ahead of taxpayers, I have absolutely no faith in seeing any cuts that result in homeowners seeing a property tax break,” Hicks told South Central Reporter. “Like most things that happen in Springfield, the public is left in the dark on this matter of the possibility of their property taxes going up even higher.

“It is up to the public to inform themselves on what is happening in Springfield especially when it comes to issues that impact their ability to keep a roof over their heads while worrying if they can continue to afford the ever-rising taxes.”

Hicks, 33, lives in Sawyerville, and works as a field director for a political consulting firm. A Republican, he is a veteran of numerous political campaigns, including when Jeanne Ives ran for governor in 2018 and also has been a candidate, running for the Macoupin County Board in 2018 but losing by nine votes after a recount.

Hicks currently serves as a Republican precinct committeeperson in Mount Olive, a post he has been elected to twice.

In January, he went to Washington, D.C., as an activist on behalf of FreedomWorks in an attempt to have House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., release the articles of impeachment.

Hicks is a 2011 graduate of Heartland Community College and a 2013 graduate of Southern Illinois University.