Peoria Standard

Fulton County has received a final property assessment equalization factor of 0.9415, announced by David Harris, the director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. This equalization factor, also known as the "multiplier," helps achieve uniform property assessments among counties. It is significant because many of the state's local taxing districts overlap into multiple counties, impacting school districts, junior college districts, and fire protection districts. Without this equalization, there would be considerable discrepancies among taxpayers with similar properties.

Since 1975, Illinois law mandates property assessments at one-third of their market value. While farm property assessments differ, homesites and dwellings follow standard procedures. Farmland is assessed at one-third of its agricultural economic value, bypassing the state equalization factor. In Fulton County, assessments reflect 35.40% of market value, using data from property sales in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The determined equalization factor is applicable to 2024 taxes, payable in 2025. Last year's factor was 1.0000.

The final factor comes after a public hearing on the tentative figure, which was set on February 27, 2025, as 0.9415. This factor is evaluated yearly for each county by comparing property sale prices over three years with their assessed values by the county assessor. When the three-year average level of assessment aligns with one-third of market value, the factor is one. If the average assessment surpasses one-third of market value, the factor is below one, and conversely, it is above one if the valuation falls short.

Changes in the equalization factor do not imply fluctuations in total property tax bills. These bills depend on local taxing bodies' requests for funds to provide essential services. If the amount requested aligns with the previous year, property taxes remain steady, even with increased assessments. An individual property's assessed value determines its share of the tax burden, unaffected by the multiplier.