By George Cardenas
July 29, 2025 11:51 AM
While families battle July’s heat and prep their kids for school, a deeper pressure is boiling beneath the surface: property taxes. City Hall’s latest flirtation with tax hikes, brought to light in Crain’s July 25 editorial, is more than just political posturing — it’s a red flag for every homeowner and business operator in this city. “City leaders” are reportedly tossing around the idea of raising property taxes. The CFO says it’s on the table. The mayor says it isn’t, not by him anyway. This is not leadership. It is avoidance. Chicagoans deserve better.
Crain’s editorial describes property taxes as Chicago’s “kryptonite” — and that’s correct. This is the slow poison that weakens our city’s ability to attract investment, retain working families, and build trust in local government. The question is whether we’re prepared to confront it head-on or keep pretending it’s not draining our strength.
Let’s be honest: One either raises revenue or cuts spending. That’s how balance sheets work. If the mayor is ruling out property tax hikes, then layoffs, agency cuts, and program trims must be openly discussed. There is no third option. Kicking the can down the road only deepens the fiscal crater. City Hall must stop pretending that we can spend endlessly without consequence.
Our pension systems are teetering. Chicago’s pension funds are funded at just 24% — a crisis by any standard. And yet we continue to tolerate bloated contracts, opaque work rules, and unchecked overtime. If we don’t fix these systemic issues, property tax hikes will become the default solution. That’s not reform. That’s surrender.
I didn’t come into government as a career politician. I came in as an accountant. An accounting mindset is what is needed: discipline, analysis, and results. To put the issue in accounting terms, we shouldn’t dither about whether taxes are “on the table.” Open the books in a clear and understandable manner. Taxpayers aren’t fragile. They’re frustrated. And they deserve honesty, not hedging.
Let’s also stop pretending that economic development is a one-liner in a campaign speech. We cannot keep shuffling the tax burden between residential and commercial properties like a shell game. We need to grow the base — build real projects, bring back cranes downtown, reignite manufacturing on the South and West sides, and capture new value instead of recycling old pain.
But development doesn’t happen in a vacuum — it requires leadership willing to make the city an investment-worthy place. That means streamlining permitting. Eliminating redundancies. Fixing the broken assessments that scare off capital. And, most importantly, signaling to the market that Chicago is a city where your investment is safe from unpredictable tax hikes. Business thrives where there is certainty — and right now, City Hall is offering little of it.
The truth is, our tax system is collapsing under its own weight. Some neighborhoods in the south suburbs already had collection rates below 80% last year. That’s not sustainable — it’s a warning shot. And the next round of tax bills will hit harder. In some Chicago communities, assessments are up more than 50%. That means thousands more in property taxes for families already drowning in inflation and stagnant wages.
In these communities — especially those long disinvested—the growing tax burden is not just a fiscal issue. It’s a moral one. A system that punishes residents for living in undervalued homes that suddenly spike in value through blanket reassessments is a system out of touch. There must be equity, and that means moving toward income-based relief mechanisms like the circuit breaker. When homeowners are forced to choose between paying taxes, buying groceries, or covering child care — we’ve failed them.
I believe we owe the taxpayers three things: clarity, empathy, and competence. Clarity about the hard choices ahead. Empathy for the struggle families face. And the competence to make the tough calls and manage the budget like it’s our own checkbook — because it is.
The era of magical thinking is over. The numbers don’t lie. If we don’t change course, we risk permanently damaging our city’s financial foundation. Let’s stop playing games and start telling the truth.
The fiscal nap is over. And the “kryptonite” is real. Wake up, Chicago.
Commissioner George A. Cardenas represents the 1st District on the Cook County Board of Review and served 20 years on the Chicago City Council.
By George Cardenas