Rep. Joe Sosnowski

ROCKFORD – State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, is reminding local school districts in Winnebago and Boone Counties that they can apply for a Property Tax Relief grant provided by the Illinois State Board of Education from now through the application deadline of January 7, 2019.

​Beginning this year, the State Board will provide up to $50 million in property tax relief grants to eligible school districts.  Eligible districts are those that exceed a threshold tax rate and that agree to abate a portion of taxes, up to a statutory limit, in the coming tax cycle.  In return, qualifying districts receive a state grant in an amount that is a proportion of the tax relief provided.

“Strengthening our commitment to K-12 education while finding responsible ways to lessen the local property tax burden continue to be among my top priorities,” Representative Sosnowski said. “I am pleased that the FY 19 state budget includes this new property tax relief grant that eligible local school districts can take advantage of.”

Eligible districts are determined based on cumulative data submitted by school districts that apply for the grant. That data forms the basis of what is termed the “Unit Equivalent Tax Rate”. Grants are awarded in order of the highest Unit Equivalent Tax Rate among grant applicants.

The application form and additional information is available online at www.isbe.net/proptaxrelief.  

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State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, was honored to accept the Illinois Farm Bureau ACTIVATOR "Friend of Agriculture" award presented by Winnebago County Farm Bureau President Richard Beuth in recognition of Sosnowski's consistent voting record in support of Illinois' agricultural industry.

Thank you to Heritage Woods of Belvidere for asking me to meet with your residents and opening your doors to local community members to attend my State of the State Update. I appreciate how your facility actively engages in forums. Again, thank you for all you do. 

Wirepoints Special Report

By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner

Listen to education officials’ demands for more money and it’s easy to believe Illinois grossly underspends on K-12 education. A $7.2 billion funding lawsuit to double state contributions to classroom spending, a $40,000 minimum wage demand for teachers, and lawmakers’ rejection of limits to school district borrowing might bolster that impression.

But the truth is Illinois already spends a lot on education – more than any other state in the Midwest. It’s just that much of the money is going to all the wrong places.

At $14,180 per student, Illinois spends far more than its neighbors on education – 44 percent more on a per student basis than Kentucky and Indiana, 22 percent more than Michigan and 21 percent more than the national average.

The problem arises when all those dollars are doled out. Billions of dollars are being siphoned away from the poorest districts by the state’s burgeoning education bureaucracy...

ROCKFORD – The Illinois Chamber of Commerce today named State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, a “Champion of Free Enterprise” for his voting record during the 2017-2018 legislative session. The Illinois Chamber’s Legislative Ratings tracks votes important to the state’s business community and grades legislators based on their support of pro-business issues during the two-year legislative session.

Among bills included in the report are the 32% tax increase, proposed red tape for call center operators, an electricity rate increase, expensive regulations to internet website operators, a $15 an hour minimum wage, a gross receipts tax on investment management services, and fake workers’ compensation reform.  However, not all was bad.  The Chamber included votes on legislation that will bring Illinois to the forefront of 5G internet, state preemption of autonomous vehicles, comprehensive procurement reform, and renewing the state’s vital EDGE tax credit.