Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Tax Deferral topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County treasurer urges public to contact governor over state bill ending property-tax deferrals for seniors
Summary
Kane County Treasurer Karen Chatterley warned at the March 11 commission meeting that Senate Bill 197 would end the property-tax deferral program and likely shift tax burdens onto seniors and low-income households; she urged local outreach asking the governor to veto the bill.
Kane County Treasurer Karen Chatterley told the County Commission on March 11 that recent state legislation, identified in the meeting as Senate Bill 197, would end the state's property-tax deferral program and could force low-income homeowners and many seniors to pay property taxes they had been allowed to defer.
Chatterley said the bill was amended late Friday night and could be signed by the governor as soon as March 27. She told the commission many county treasurers oppose the bill and urged the county to publish a contact number so residents can call the governor's office and ask for a veto.
The treasurer described the difference between abatement and deferral: an abatement forgives taxes; a deferral delays them, leaving the balance to be settled later, often when a home changes hands. She said the bill would eliminate some existing abatements and restrict eligibility, noting an apparent provision that, beginning in 2026, a property that had not received an abatement in the prior two years would not be eligible for a new abatement.
County Attorney Robert Van Dyke joined the exchange to clarify that whether the governor's signature matters depends on whether the Legislature passed the bill by a supermajority. Van Dyke explained that a bill approved by two-thirds of the Legislature becomes law regardless of the governor's signature; otherwise the governor's action controls.
Chatterley provided preliminary vote counts she said she had seen (54 to 34, with one absentee) and described the bill as retroactive to 2025. She said the change could increase paperwork for county offices and create financial hardship for families who inherit homes carrying deferred tax balances.
Commissioners and staff agreed to coordinate an internal strategy meeting and then release outward-facing guidance so residents know how to respond if the county requests public contact with the governor's office. No formal commission motion or vote on advocacy was recorded at the meeting.
The treasurer said she would follow up with legal staff for confirmation of details and provide commissioners with a contact number for the governor's office.
