Show targets importance of business tax breaks
The best way to help South
“Meanwhile northwest Indiana and Will County are actively recruiting businesses” away from south Cook, she said.
The Southland needs incentives because it’s tough to redevelop sites once occupied by mills and factories, DeLaurentiis said. Environmental cleanup adds to costs, and developers can be more easily attracted to farmland a few miles away.
In June, Cook County Clerk David Orr said average 2017 residential tax rates were 7.1 percent in Chicago, 9.3 percent in the northern suburbs and 11.9 percent in the south suburbs. Orr compared three elementary school districts in the northern, western and southern suburbs that each billed roughly $11 million to $12 million in total annual taxes.
The key difference was that a school district in Morton Grove was able to spread tax bills among $313 million in total taxable value and a school district serving Brookfield and LaGrange Park had a total taxable value of $257 million. In Park Forest School District 163, the total value of property was only $84 million, the clerk said.
“The Illinois property tax system is regressive and disproportionately impacts people in poorer regions,” Orr said in the report.
Other factors have compounded the problem of a tax system that was structurally unfair. The Chicago Tribune and others investigated assessments and found that properties were routinely under-assessed in wealthier areas and over-assessed in poorer regions.
Well-meaning policymakers increased tax exemptions for senior citizens and others, but as a result the tax burden increased for property owners who didn’t receive exemptions. The south suburbs have higher rates of foreclosures and greater numbers of properties removed from the tax rolls than other regions.
Also, retail shopping is shifting more to online sales and away from brick-and-mortar stores, making it more difficult to fill vacant storefronts. The loss of sales tax revenue has forced communities from Harvey to Orland Park to reduce services ranging from library and recreation programs to police and fire protection.
DeLaurentiis and the SSMMA have delivered presentations about how the cumulative effect of all these headwinds creates a “perfect storm” that discourages new business investment.
The lack of businesses in the region means fewer jobs than in other areas. Many south suburban residents must travel greater distances to and from work, increasing their household expenses for commuting and child care.
Local boosters understand the challenges facing the Southland and work together to achieve solutions. Policymakers at the county, state and federal level need to better appreciate that the economy in the south suburbs is fragile, and that a one-size-fits-all approach to incentives will not succeed.
DeLaurentiis suggested to Cook County Board members in March that they reconsider a policy that assesses vacant commercial properties at the same rate as farmland. The policy discourages landlords from trying harder to find new tenants for vacant stores and contributes to blight in communities in the long term, she said.
I thought Cohn did a good job getting his guests to talk about economic incentives in a way that viewers could understand. Our conversation will air in two separate 30-minute segments for the next several weeks, he said.