Christian County has been issued a final property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, according to David Harris, Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. The property assessment equalization factor, often called the multiplier, is the method used to achieve uniform property assessments among counties, as required by law.  This equalization is particularly important because some of the state’s taxing districts overlap into two or more counties.

Under a law passed in 1975 property in Illinois should be assessed at 1/3rd of its market value.  Farm property is assessed differently than regular property, with farm homesites and dwellings subject to regular assessing and equalization procedures, but with farmland assessed at 1/3 of its agriculture economic value.  Farmland is not subject to the state equalization factor.

Assessments in Christian County are at 33.12 percent of market value, based on sales of properties in 2019, 2020, and 2021.  The equalization factor currently being assigned is for 2022 taxes, payable in 2023.  Last year’s equalization factor was also 1.0000. The final assessment equalization factor was issued after a public hearing on the tentative factor.  The tentative factor issued in November 2022 was 1.0000. 

The equalization factor is determined by comparing the price of individual property sold over the past three years to the assessed value placed on those properties by the county supervisor of assessments/county assessor. If this three-year average level of assessment is 1/3 of the market value, the assessment level will be 1. A change in the equalization factor does not mean total property tax bills will increase or decrease. Tax bills are determined by local taxing bodies when they request money each year to provide services to local citizens. 

The individual’s portion of tax responsibility is not changed by the multiplier.