Illinois REALTORS® applauded the Illinois General Assembly’s recent passage of a mass-transit reform package that does not raise real estate taxes. 

Earlier in the year, the assembly was considering legislation to fund public-transit projects that Illinois REALTORS® said would increase real estate taxes up to 600% by raising transfer taxes in suburban Cook and Chicago’s collar counties. 

“A world-class mass transit system is essential for Chicago and the surrounding suburbs,” Illinois REALTORS® CEO Jeff Baker said. “Equally important is protecting housing affordability and ensuring that Illinois families are not burdened with additional costs that make homeownership harder to achieve.” 

Instead of raising transfer taxes — and a variety of other taxes as proposed in previous bills — to fill a public-transit budget gap, the legislation redirects revenue from motor-fuel sales taxes and interest earned from the state’s Road Fund to public transportation. 

“Raising real estate taxes robs our towns and cities of economic growth,” Baker said. “We’re grateful that legislative leaders listened to our members and found alternative funding solutions to sustain Illinois’ vital mass-transit systems without jeopardizing housing affordability.”