Rauner ally tries to tie Preckwinkle's hands on property taxes
Gov. Bruce Rauner's hand-picked state Republican chairman is looking to put Democratic Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in a political trick bag on property taxes.
Republican Commissioner Timothy Schneider of Streamwood intends to ask colleagues at Wednesday's board meeting to record their opposition to a property tax increase. The symbolic measure would not have the force of law but could tie Preckwinkle's hands as she tries to fashion a 2016 budget with significantly higher costs from rising debt payments, increased employee salaries and possibly bigger pension contributions.
Preckwinkle, who has maintained all options are on the table for balancing next year's budget including the "last resort" of a property tax hike called Schneider's move "ill-conceived and irresponsible."
"This is exactly the type of political stunt that bond rating agencies have raised concern over in recent years," Preckwinkle said in a statement. "If passed, this resolution could have a negative impact on how the county is viewed by rating agencies and bond markets, making it more expensive to borrow money and jeopardizing the long-term financial stability we have worked so hard over the past five years to create."
The county has not increased property taxes since 1994, when an ordinance was passed requiring a two-thirds vote of the 17-member board to increase taxes by more than 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever was lower. But other local governments, including the city of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools, repeatedly have raised property tax collections in the last 20 years.
Schneider, the Illinois Republican Party chairman who has given Preckwinkle kudos for lowering the overall county tax burden, on Tuesday turned Preckwinkle's own language on her and said he believes even considering a property tax "at this point is irresponsible and ill-conceived. ... We can't always look to taxes to balance our budgets. We need to continue to streamline county government and reduce (employee) head count."
Schneider said he has the support of Commissioners John Fritchey, D-Chicago, Luis Arroyo Jr., D-Chicago, and the other three Republicans on the board.
Schneider will need three more votes to get his resolution passed, which may be difficult given Preckwinkle's opposition. Democratic Commissioner Stanley Moore of Chicago already has withdrawn his name as a sponsor. Arroyo said Preckwinkle has been asking him to peel off, but added: "I'm going to stay firm. That has to be off the table."
Freezing property taxes is an idea championed by Rauner, though he also wants to reduce the amount of income taxes the state provides local governments.
Also Wednesday, Fritchey is sponsoring another measure that bucks Rauner's agenda, a symbolic resolution to put the county on record as opposing so-called right-to-work zones.
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Rauner ally tries to tie Preckwinkle's hands on property taxes