Rock Island Today

Rock Island County has received its final property assessment equalization factor for 2024, set at 1.0000, as announced by David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. Known as the "multiplier," this factor ensures property assessments across counties are uniform, a requirement under state law. This uniformity is crucial because Illinois has 6,600 local taxing districts that often overlap into multiple counties.

Harris clarified the significance of the equalization factor: "If there was no equalization among counties, substantial inequities among taxpayers with comparable properties would result." According to legislation passed in 1975, properties in Illinois should be assessed at one-third of their market value. However, farm properties follow a different assessment process, with farmland evaluated at one-third of its agricultural economic value.

Rock Island County's assessments reflect 33.33% of the market value, based on property sales from 2021 to 2023. The 2024 equalization factor applies to taxes payable in 2025, mirroring last year's factor of 1.0000. Before finalizing the factor, a public hearing was held following the tentative factor issuance on December 19, 2024.

The factor is calculated annually for each county by comparing selling prices of properties over the past three years to their assessed values. If the three-year average assessment aligns with one-third of the market value, the equalization factor remains one. If assessments exceed one-third of the market value, the factor drops below one. Conversely, it rises above one if assessments fall short.

However, a shift in the equalization factor doesn't automatically affect total property tax bills, which are contingent on local taxing bodies' financial requests for services each year. Harris emphasized, "If the amount requested by local taxing districts is not greater than the amount received in the previous year, then total property taxes will not increase even if assessments increase."

The assessed value of an individual property influences the taxpayer's share of tax responsibility, which remains unchanged by the multiplier.