Cook County Forest Preserve Mulls Tax Hike Request

COOK COUNTY, IL — The Cook County Forest Preserve is considering asking voters to approve a property tax increase to support more than 70,000 acres of natural areas, WBEZ reports.

The increase would be designed to cover more than $200 million in deferred projects, including repairing cracked parking lots and fighting invasive species, the public news radio station reported. Most of the district's $120 million-budget comes from property taxes.

“You have this giant conservation district that is woefully understaffed and underfunded,” Benjamin Cox, executive director of Friends of the Forest Preserves, an independent advocacy group, told WBEZ. “They do an incredible job with what they’ve got, and that just wasn’t the case even a few years ago.”

Forest Preserve officials could request state funds, but there is no appetite for that. However, the tax increase is far from a done deal. The issue would need to be approved by referendum, and commissioners have not yet decided whether to bring the issue to voters.

According to WBEZ, the average homeowner pays $25 to $45 a year to the forest preserve district. That could increase by $10 to $20. Commissioners are not yet sure how much more revenue that would bring.

The district's next meeting is Sept. 24 in Palos Park.

Read more at WBEZ.