Kane Co. property tax take grows

Kane County may not be growing as fast as it once was thanks to a slow housing market, but taxing bodies as a whole still will collect more property taxes than they did last year.

That's in part because of about 2,000 more properties joining the tax rolls, pushing the county past the 191,000 parcel mark.

Those properties will ring up a tax collection total of about $1.09 billion this year, with an average tax bill of about $5,674, according to the Kane County Treasurer's office. That is about 4.8 percent more than last year's average bill.

As always, the bulk of the $1.09 billion comes from homeowners, who chip in about 79 percent of the total. Homeowners in some communities pay more than others.

The five townships with the highest average tax bills for a $300,000 home:

1. Sugar Grove Township - $7,146

2. Elgin Township - $7,120

3. Aurora Township - $7,119

4. Blackberry Township - $7,087

5. Batavia Township - $6,983

Property taxes on businesses account for 13 percent of the $1.09 billion that will be collected. Industrial properties chip in 6 percent of the total. Farms contribute 2 percent.

About 66 percent of property taxes collected fund local school districts. Municipalities get 11 percent of the money. The forest preserve district and local parks receive about 7 percent. The county receives about 5 percent. Most of the remainder goes to libraries, townships and fire districts.

Top 10 Kane County taxpayers:

1. Simon/Chelsea Chicago (owners of Premium Outlet mall in Aurora) - $2.9 million

2. Liberty Property LP (owners of Liberty Business Park/Center in Aurora and N. Aurora) - $2.3 million

3. Geneva Commons - $2.27 million

4. Spring Hill Mall, LLC (in West Dundee) - $2.2 million

5. Algonquin Commons - $2 million

6. Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. (Aurora) - $1.5 million

7. John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (Fisher Nuts in Elgin) - $1.4 million

8. Arthur Andersen & Company - $959,000

9. Kimco Realty Corporation (owns several shopping centers, including Town & Country in Elgin) - $814,000

10. Kraft Foods Global - $797,000