BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Nothing was done to advance property tax relief for Illinois farmers and landowners before the 104th Illinois General Assembly adjourned their spring 2025 legislative session on May 31. Many in agriculture were hoping for passage or advancement of bills that would reform the state’s complicated and, some say, antiquated property tax code.

One bill to languish in the assembly, Sen. Neal Anderson’s (R-Andalusia) SB 1862, would have amended the Illinois Property Tax Code to establish a homestead exemption for qualified homestead property that has been continuously owned, used, and occupied as the primary residence by the qualified taxpayer for at least 30 years. The bill would require taxpayers who have been granted an exemption to reapply on an annual basis. It also provides that the assessor or chief county assessment officer may determine the eligibility of a residential property to receive the homestead exemption.

“Those that have literally been in their home for 30 years, and have been paying taxes for 30 years have clearly invested, and volunteered, and given back to the community, let’s start at least with them to say what can we do to help that population get some relief,” said the bill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley).

A 2024 bill, SB 3455, commissioned the Illinois Department of Revenue to study the entire property tax system in the state, including a comprehensive review of assessments, collections, exemptions and current tax levies. The legislation compelled the department to look at the classification system used by Cook County as compared to the system used by the rest of the state, then make recommendations that will improve the system.

“If that sounds familiar, it is because it is roughly the same mandate (Ill. Gov.) Pritzker gave to the Property Tax Relief Task Force created by SB 1932 in 2019 just after he took office. The task force put out a draft report in 2021 recommending various changes in policy, including local government consolidation, more state funding for education and expanding the sales tax base,” said Joe Tabor, director of legal research at the Illinois Policy Institute. “Few of the task force’s recommendations have been seriously followed up on.”

According to Andrew Larson, director of government relations and strategy for the Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois’ property tax system code is broken and in need of fixing for the benefit of all landowners.

“There is a precarious balance between how we fund state government versus local government, which leads to the high property taxes we pay here in Illinois,” Larson said. “Other states do things a little differently; maybe the state government funds things to a local level like we don’t do here in Illinois. I think there is certainly a need to have this (reform) conversation in the months and years to come.”

The University of Illinois Extension’s Kevin Brooks noted in a recent news release that government agencies and schools in low-population counties depend more on farm property taxes than those in more urban counties.

“Year-to-year stability is important, and the current property tax code provides the framework for agricultural economic stability. Farm tax assessments are based on land use under average-level management, the relative productivity of soils, and the present value of the net income assigned to the land from farm production. The profitability of your soils directly impacts how much you pay in farmland property taxes,” Brooks stated in his report, “Understanding Illinois Farmland Property Taxes,” published May 21.

He went on to explain that higher farm profitability triggers a higher property tax on farms, while lower profitability can reduce the tax burden. “Illinois farm property taxes are determined on a five-year average of farm profitability. Over five years, higher income years can offset a lower farm profit year. There is also a two-year lag, which accounts for the slow adjustment of farm property taxes. 2025 property taxes will be paid on 2024 calculations, accounting for 2023 farm income. Thus, it takes seven years to fully adjust to everchanging farm economic conditions,” Brooks said.

“We’re very hopeful there can be more discussions on property tax relief,” Larson added. “We want funds for local schools and to be able to make local decisions, but we also know there’s a high amount of burden being placed on property owners in Illinois. We want to be sure to balance those needs and do the right thing for the state.”

Brooks recommended farmers contact the Illinois Department of Agriculture or their local county assessor’s office for more clarification about their farm property taxes.