Kane County Reporter

Kane County has received a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000 for 2025, according to David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).

The property assessment equalization factor, also known as the "multiplier," is used to ensure that property assessments are uniform across all counties in Illinois. This process is important because many local taxing districts, such as school and fire protection districts, cross county lines. Without this standardization, taxpayers with similar properties in different counties could face unequal tax burdens.

State law requires most property in Illinois to be assessed at one-third of its market value. However, farm properties are assessed differently: while homesites and dwellings on farms follow regular procedures, farmland and farm buildings are valued based on productivity standards.

Each year, IDOR determines the equalization factor for every county by comparing the sales prices of individual properties over the past three years with their assessed values. If a county’s average assessment level matches one-third of market value, its multiplier is set at 1.0000. A higher or lower average would result in a multiplier above or below 1.0000.

For Kane County, assessments were found to be at exactly 33.33% of market value based on property sales from 2022 through 2024.

The assigned tentative multiplier applies to taxes for 2025 payable in 2026. Last year’s multiplier was also set at 1.0000.

This figure remains tentative and may change if the County Board of Review takes actions that significantly affect assessments or if new data suggests IDOR's estimates should be revised. A public hearing will take place between 20 and 30 days after publication of the tentative factor in a local newspaper.

A change in the equalization factor does not automatically mean that total property tax bills will go up or down; those amounts depend on how much money local taxing bodies request each year for services provided to residents. Even if assessments rise due to changes in the multiplier, total taxes will not increase unless local governments ask for more funds than they did previously.

The assessed value determines what share of taxes an individual property owner pays within their district; this proportion does not change because of adjustments made by applying the multiplier.

"SPRINGFIELD, IL, Kane County has been issued a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000," said David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).