When it was built in 1954, the 1,250 square-foot, three-bedroom, one bath contemporary “Futura” model at 75 Blackhawk Drive in Park Forest was the epitome of housing innovation.
It ran $14,500 then, or about $136,000 in today’s dollars. Veterans could own a “Futura” with just $900 down, or $8,400 today.
Buyers scooped them up. Park Forest grew from a population of 8,100 in 1950 to 29,993 in 1960. And as it did, the town became a national phenomenon, the subject of books and magazine profiles celebrating what Park Forest had proven: that once exclusive suburban America could be attractive and attainable to the middle class.
Today, 70 years later, Park Forest is proving the opposite.
In 2019, it is earning attention for another reason: sky-high property taxes, caused by outsized local government spending.
An analysis by Local Government Information Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Cook News, found that of 331 Chicagoland suburbs, Park Forest had the highest effective property tax rate for the second half of 2018-- a staggering 7.51 percent, or a bill of $4,938 on a median-priced home of $45,000.
That’s three times Illinois’ median property tax bill (2.31 percent) and six times the national average (1.2 percent), according to WalletHub.com.
Park Forest edged out Markham (7.49 percent), Riverdale (7.27 percent), Harvey (6.91 percent), Sauk Village (6.47 percent) and Dolton (5.93 percent) to earn the top spot in the LGIS analysis, which tracked home sales between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2018.
Of 49 south cook suburbs surveyed, 42 have effective property tax rates higher than the state average, 19 are 50 percent higher and ten have rates twice as high.
Predictably, middle class taxpayers have fled these communities. Park Forest has shrunken by one-third, to 21,672, repelling prospective buyers with tax bills that make building home equity an impossible feat.
At $45,000, the median home price in Park Forest has fallen by two thirds from its level in 1980, when the U.S. Census pegged it at $151,210 (inflation-adjusted).
$57K in property taxes on a $76K home
When Daniel J. Mason paid $107,000-- $134,000 in today’s dollars-- for that Park Forest “Futura” at 75 Blackhawk Drive, in May 2006, its property taxes were $3,323, or 3.1 percent of his purchase price.
Mason sold the property Mar. 1 for $76,000. He paid $56,995 in property taxes-- two thirds of his home’s sale price-- over 12 years of Park Forest ownership, his tax bill continuing to rise 31 percent to $4,344 as his home value continued to shrink.
In south Cook County, Mason's is a familiar story at every price point.
Homes in nearby Flossmoor are at the top end of the south suburban market, with a median sale price of $182,000, down from $346,000 in 1980. Its effective property tax rate the last six months of 2018 was 4.67 percent, or a median bill of $8,492.
Discerning home buyers know that’s more than five times the bill ten miles east, across the border in northwest Indiana, where Wallethub.com reports the effective rate is just 0.87 percent.
The difference makes for some stark comparisons.
A 4,500 square-foot four bedroom, four bath at 3040 Bob-O-Link Rd. in Flossmoor's Heather Hill subdivision sold for for $213,000 on Feb 7. Its property taxes: $18,268.
In Dyer, Ind., a four bedroom, two bath half the size sold for $217,288 in Dec. Its tax bill: $1,598, or 11 times less.
The Dyer buyer, putting 20 percent down at market rates, would pay $821 per month in principal and interest and $133 in property taxes.
The Flossmoor buyer-- $806 and $1,522.
It comes as little surprise that evidence is building that the Flossmoor “homeownership” model isn't viable.
Seller Melisha C. Henderson paid $195,000 for 3040 Bob-O-Link Rd. in Jan 2011. She paid $117,208 in property taxes over seven years of ownership before losing the home to foreclosure.
Taxes at 3040 Bob-o-Link Rd. were $10,544 in 1999, when Cook County claimed the home was worth $392,690. Today, it’s worth half that-- and the tax bill has nearly doubled.
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South Cook County Effective Property Tax Rates, Jul. 1- Dec. 31, 2018
| Community | Effective Tax Rate | Median Tax Bill | Median Sale Price | |
| Park Forest | 7.51% | $4,938 | $65,750 | |
| Markham | 7.49% | $3,034 | $40,500 | |
| Riverdale | 7.27% | $2,871 | $39,500 | |
| Harvey | 6.91% | $2,419 | $35,000 | |
| Sauk Village | 6.47% | $2,523 | $39,000 | |
| Dolton | 5.93% | $3,648 | $61,500 | |
| Merrionette Park | 5.76% | $2,792 | $48,500 | |
| East Hazel Crest | 5.73% | $3,724 | $65,000 | |
| Burnham | 5.49% | $2,964 | $54,000 | |
| Flossmoor | 4.67% | $8,492 | $182,000 | |
| Calumet City | 4.58% | $3,478 | $76,000 | |
| Country Club Hills | 4.44% | $4,975 | $112,000 | |
| Robbins | 4.39% | $1,164 | $26,500 | |
| Matteson | 4.12% | $5,560 | $135,000 | |
| Calumet Park | 4.05% | $3,422 | $84,500 | |
| Olympia Fields | 4.04% | $8,061 | $199,500 | |
| Chicago Heights | 3.77% | $3,335 | $88,500 | |
| Richton Park | 3.70% | $4,574 | $123,500 | |
| Glenwood | 3.67% | $4,165 | $113,500 | |
| Summit | 3.40% | $5,542 | $163,000 | |
| Worth | 3.33% | $4,440 | $133,500 | |
| Hazel Crest | 3.31% | $3,642 | $110,000 | |
| South Holland | 3.23% | $4,648 | $143,750 | |
| Alsip | 3.19% | $4,631 | $145,000 | |
| Lansing | 3.18% | $3,822 | $120,000 | |
| Posen | 3.09% | $2,587 | $117,000 | |
| Oak Forest | 3.08% | $5,632 | $182,750 | |
| Midlothian | 3.07% | $4,231 | $138,000 | |
| Tinley Park | 3.01% | $5,869 | $195,250 | |
| Lynwood | 2.98% | $4,909 | $165,000 | |
| Homewood | 2.97% | $4,741 | $159,500 | |
| Thornton | 2.83% | $3,400 | $120,000 | |
| Orland Hills | 2.80% | $5,048 | $180,000 | |
| Hickory Hills | 2.78% | $5,537 | $199,000 | |
| South Chicago Heights | 2.70% | $2,686 | $99,500 | |
| Bridgeview | 2.70% | $4,925 | $182,500 | |
| Chicago Ridge | 2.62% | $3,147 | $120,000 | |
| Blue Island | 2.58% | $3,350 | $130,000 | |
| Evergreen Park | 2.52% | $4,530 | $180,000 | |
| Justice | 2.43% | $4,555 | $187,500 | |
| Hometown | 2.38% | $3,016 | $126,500 | |
| Oak Lawn | 2.36% | $4,205 | $178,000 | |
| Orland Park | 2.34% | $5,838 | $250,000 | |
| Illinois Average | 2.31% | $4,176 | $179,700 | |
| Palos Heights | 2.27% | $6,255 | $275,000 | |
| Crestwood | 2.25% | $2,431 | $105,000 | |
| Burbank | 2.22% | $4,382 | $197,000 | |
| Palos Park | 2.21% | $7,178 | $325,000 | |
| Palos Hills | 2.06% | $3,301 | $160,000 | |
| Stickney | 2.01% | $4,284 | $213,000 | |
| Lemont | 1.99% | $6,720 | $338,500 | |
| Steger | 1.81% | $1,662 | $92,000 | |
| Sources: Cook County Recorder of Deeds, Cook County Treasurer; Tracks all communities with more than ten sales from July 1-Dec. 31, 2018; Communities with fewer five or fewer sales excluded, including Dixmoor (5), Phoenix (3) and Ford Heights (2). Includes the Cook County portions of Steger (57% of properties) and Park Forest (85% of properties), the remainder of which are in Will County. | ||||
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