SKOKIE - Governor JB Pritzker and State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) announced a $503,000 grant to Skokie School District 73.5 at a press conference on Monday. This grant is intended to offset district costs, allowing the administration to levy less in property taxes from residents.

“With this grant, the state and the district are working together to provide critical property tax relief to residents,” Villivalam said. “Governor Pritzker, myself, and my colleagues recognize that our residents are facing burdensome property taxes. Illinois is on a path to providing more equitable funding to our schools through state resources, which will take pressure off of property taxes in the long-term. In the meantime, it is our duty to provide short-term, fiscally responsible property tax relief to residents whenever possible.”

Senator Villivalam was appointed to the Property Tax Relief Task Force in August 2019. The Task Force was charged with utilizing a racial and economic equity lens to identify the causes of increasingly burdensome property taxes across Illinois, reviewing best practices for relief, and making recommendations to assist in short-term and long-term reform.

“While this is a one-time grant, my colleagues and I are committed to finding and funding sustainable property tax relief measures,” Villivalam said. “The final recommendations of the Property Tax Relief Task Force will be reported out shortly, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact the recommendations we’ve provided.”