Hundreds of taxing bodies throughout the suburbs now can reclaim millions of dollars in refunded property taxes thanks to a controversial law passed nearly unanimously by the state legislature two years ago.
Many local governments will have the opportunity to increase their property tax levies by 5% for the first time since Illinois instituted a tax cap that limited levy growth more than 30 years ago. But whether they will or should is another question.
Before the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board s recent 5-2 approval of a two-year teachers contract, most of the debate centered not on the 3% annual salary increases but how big raises could be in teachers final four years before collecting pensions.