Legislation would eliminate assessor bonuses
SPRINGFIELD — Following a Daily Herald report that township assessors can get a $3,000 annual bonus for making accurate assessments that are already required by law, legislation has been proposed to block those payments in the future.
State Rep. Carol Sente, a Vernon Hills Democrat, filed the legislation Tuesday.
The bonuses cost the state about $650,000 a year at a time when the state faces billions of dollars in unpaid bills and other financial challenges.
Sente’s move comes as she also is out asking voters for support in the final weeks of an election — and when state lawmakers are only planning to meet for a handful of days before a new class is sworn in. That could make approval of her plan difficult, especially as postelection sessions could focus on other issues like gay marriage and cutting teacher pensions.
Sente is running against state Rep. Sidney Mathias, a Buffalo Grove Republican, in one of the most hotly contested statehouse races in Illinois. They’re bidding for an Illinois House seat from the 59th District, which includes all or parts of Buffalo Grove, Green Oaks, Gurnee, Indian Creek, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Mettawa, Mundelein, Northbrook, North Chicago, Park City, Riverwoods, Vernon Hills, Waukegan and Wheeling.