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Jack up property taxes for pensions, say three Chicago Fed economists

Illinois homeowners, who already pay some of the nation's highest property taxes, should pay about 40 percent more for the next three decades to wipe out the state's crippling pension debt, according to a trio of economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
 
The economists argue that paying off the state's $129.1 billion in unfunded pension obligations cannot be done with revenue from new taxes such as a tax on marijuana sales or on financial transactions.
 
"In our view, Illinois' best option is to impose a statewide residential property tax," they wrote, in part because it would be fair: "Illinois residents who have benefited most from the past services of governmental employees are more likely to be homeowners, so it seems reasonable that they should pay a larger share of the costs."
 
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