Harvey mayor pledges to freeze resident property taxes as city faces $150M deficit

HARVEY, Ill. — As his city faces a large budget deficit, Harvey’s mayor on Tuesday pledged to hold the line on property taxes paid by residents and asked other elected officials in the south suburbs of Cook County to join him.

“If we can get everyone to hold the tax at zero percent, that resident will know that his or her bill is going to be in the upcoming year and they will be able to plan for it,” Mayor Christopher J. Clark said at a Tuesday morning press event at the Harvey Municipal Center.

In Cook County, assessments are on a three-year rotation. This year, it fell to the South and West suburbs, hitting several poorer and Black-majority communities especially hard. In two towns, Dixmoor and Phoenix, the median tax bill more than doubled, according to an analysis by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

“I’m scared. I’m worried,” said longtime Harvey resident Lillie Rayborn who, like many others, saw significant increases in their second installment bills. “This is too much.”

Clark wants to form a coalition of local municipalities to push back on how much residents are asked to pay. His office has launched the website HoldTheTax.com in an effort to get the more than one dozen other taxing entities listed on the bill to sign onto the plan.

“Everyone knows we need the money. But at the same time, we’re willing to make the sacrifice and basically enact those austerity measures which we think we can do safely and responsibly to still serve our residents. But at the same time, remember, this breaks their back. The residents come first. Government doesn’t come first. So if there needs to be a sacrifice, government needs to make that sacrifice on behalf of its people,” Clark said, drawing applause from some of those in attendance.

The city of Harvey, he says, is facing a $149 million budget deficit. His administration has received pushback from the business community on efforts to collect back taxes. The Harvey City Council in January passed an ordinance to deny operating licenses to businesses that owe property taxes.

The next installment of property tax bills are going out in the mail this week. Cook County residents can see an explanation of where their money is going at CookCountyTreasurer.com .

Harvey’s Taxing Entities

This snapshot from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office shows the levy increases for each taxing body in the City of Harvey. While the levy increases contribute to the increase in homeowners’ bills, it was the shift in assessed home values that played a larger role.

(Note: Not every Harvey taxpayer is taxed by all of these agencies, and many of them also bill property owners in other suburbs or across the entire county.)

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