"How does the county clerk 

 know how much increase is neces- 

 sary to bring the assessment up to 

 100 per cent?" 



"The county clerk gets that informa- 

 tion from the Illinois Department of 

 Revenue. That Department compares 

 actual sales prices with assessed valu- 

 ations in every county. From this study 

 the department is able to specify the 

 amount of increase that is necessary in 

 each county to bring the assessments 

 up to an average of 100 per cent of 

 sale values." 



"How much have property as- 

 sessments been increased here in 

 Moultrie county?" 



"In 1946 the Department of Rev- 

 enue found that local officials listed 

 properties in Moultrie county at an 



average of 25 per cent of their sales 

 values. Therefore, the county clerk 

 was instructed to multiply all assess- 

 ments by four. That broi^ght the 

 assessed valuations up to an average of 

 100 per cent of full sale values." 



"Then what is there to prevent 

 our taxes from being increased by 

 four times?" 



"Well, as I indicated before, a sec- 



FARM WAGE RATES 

 UP 70% OVER 1946 



//P ARM wage rates, continuing to set 

 £ new seasonal records, on April 1 

 averaged 10 per cent higher in the coun- 

 try as a whole than a year earlier," the 

 Bureau of Agricultural Economics reports. 

 By regions, increases ranged from 7 to 

 11 per cent, except in the Pacific Coast 

 States, where the average increase was 5 

 per cent. 



"About 9,242,000 people were at work 

 on farms of the nation during the week 

 ending April 1. This total included 

 7,571,000 family workers and 1,671,000 

 hired workers. Both groups were slightly 

 larger than a year earlier. 



"April 1 wage rates were 389 per cent 

 of the 1910-14 average, compared with 

 383 per cent last Jan. 1. The rise in 

 wage rates during the first three months 

 of the year, however, was smaller than 

 usual for the season. Although wage 

 rates were higher than a year ago, they 

 were below the seasonal peak of last 



July" 



JUNE. 1947 



tion of the new law operates to keep 

 changes in taxing powers somewhat in 

 line with changes in the sale value of 

 property. However, your best defense 

 against unnecessarily large tax increases 

 is in the election of intelligent, honest 

 and efficient citizens as school, town- 

 ship and county officials. It is the 

 men you elect to local offices who de- 

 termine the size of your tax bill and 

 how the tax money will be spent." 



Vil l i ili iil Mft 



"Did the lAA support the 100 

 per cent assessment program when ' 

 it was enacted?" 



"No, the lAA opposed the 100 per 

 cent assessment bills when they were 

 passed in 1945. The lAA foresaw 

 that the very complicated laws would 

 cause much confusion and warned state 

 legislators that the laws would give 

 unnecessarily large increases in taxing 

 powers to local officials. However, 

 the bills were forced through the legis- 

 lature by a narrow margin when the 

 state administration joined forces with 

 the Chicago City Hall machine." 



"What is lAA doing about the 

 100 per cent assessment laws 

 now?" 



"The lAA does not favor repeal of 

 the 100 per cent assessment laws at 



this time. Uniform assessments are 

 desirable so that legal provisions gov- 

 erning taxing powers and limitations 

 can apply uniformly throughout the 

 state, and so that state aid to needy 

 schools and for relief purposes can be 

 distributed equitably. The need now 

 IS for a simplification of the laws, and 

 for more restrictive limitations on the 

 increase in taxing powers of local 

 officials. And that is what your organi- 

 zation is working for." 



"I'm glad to know that the lAA 

 is on the job in Springfield." 



"The lAA is doing all it can. But 

 remember, it's just the rules that are 

 made in Springfield. It's you and 

 your neighbors and the men you elect 

 as school board members, township 

 officers and members of the county 

 board who set the amount of taxes to 

 be raised and who spend the money." 



"Yes," said the farmer as he started 

 to leave, "and from now on I'm going 

 to take a more active part in local 

 governmental affairs. I think we've 

 all got to do that if we're going to 

 have efficient government and get a 

 full dollar's worth of service for every 

 dollar of taxes. " 



