Data from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) show Unit 5 tax rates are below average among peer districts in total property tax rate. That also would be true if rates that would go into effect after a successful referendum are compared to the most current data available statewide. The data come from 2020 tax rates ISBE used to calculate the Fiscal Year 2023 Evidence-Based Funding distribution for districts.
There are close to 900 school districts in Illinois, according to ISBE. Some have huge numbers of students. Some have very few. Some have huge property value bases to support taxes that go to pay for teachers. Some are relatively compact. Others cover a large territory and incur large expenses to transport students. That makes direct comparisons difficult. Every district is at least slightly different.
Unit 5 has offered data showing its education fund tax rate is lower than four similar districts in central Illinois and lower than two other small districts within McLean County. Other comparisons are possible.
Large Unit District Association
The Large Unit District Association (LUDA) is a group of 54 Illinois districts that have lots of students. LUDA offers continuing education programs and advocacy for its members. Members of LUDA have several geographic clusters: in northern Illinois near Chicago, stretching from the Quad Cities south along the Interstate 74 corridor, another in the metro east area near St. Louis, and then standing alone — Marion in southern Illinois.
Even among LUDA schools, it’s hard to get apples to apples. Chicago Public Schools and Elgin have far more students than Unit 5, for instance. Yet LUDA is the closest aggregate approximation of a group of districts that have not only plentiful students, but a variety of academic and co-curricular programs.
Twelve of the 54 LUDA districts have lower current education fund rates than Unit 5. One other has the same rate, meaning the Unit 5 ed fund rate is the same or lower than 76% of large unit districts. If the referendum passes on April 4, Unit 5’s ed fund tax rate would still be lower than 18 of those districts. Put another way, Unit 5’s ed fund rate would be in the highest third of LUDA districts.
A comparison of total tax rates showed Unit 5’s rate is lower than 25 other large districts, or about the halfway point on the list. The Unit 5 total tax rate would go down under the referendum proposal because it raises the ed fund rate as district bond debt rolls off the books in 2026 and the taxes to pay those bonds off end. If applied today, the total tax rate would be 40th of 54, or in the bottom quartile for total tax rate.
It also should be noted some other districts in LUDA may have higher tax rates by now or may have them in 2026 if voters approve referenda there; 2026 is when all Unit 5 rate changes would be in effect if the referendum passes.
If the referendum fails, the total tax rate would decline by 88 cents per $100 assessed valuaation. That would put Unit 5’s total tax rate at $4.83, which would rank 45th among the 54 LUDA districts, or in the bottom 17% of members of the association.
Tax base
Another way to compare tax rate data is by districts that have a similar economic base to fund schools.
Unit 5 ranks 50th in the size of its tax base, at about $2.3 billion. Among the 106 districts that have large tax bases of more than $1 billion, Unit 5’s total tax rate currently ranks 11th highest, behind (in no particular order: Elgin School District 46 – Kane Co., Rich Township – Cook Co., Peoria District 150 – Peoria Co., Batavia – Kane Co., Thornton Twp H.S. – Cook Co., Geneva Comm Unit Dist 304 – Kane Co. , Springfield 186 – Sangamon Co., Oswego – Kendall Co., Rockford – Winnebago Co., and Valley View CUSD 365 – Will County.
If the Unit 5 referendum passes, the ending total tax rate would drop Unit 5 eight more spots on the list to 19th of 106, below St. Charles – Kane Co., Plainfield – Will Co., District 300 Carpentersville – Kane Co., Lake Zurich – Lake Co., Aurora West – Kane Co., and Huntley – McHenry Co.
Statewide total tax rate
Sorting districts statewide by total property tax rate — regardless of student body size or tax base — shows Unit 5 at 91st, cracking the list of the 100 highest rates.
In central Illinois, Peoria District 150, Lexington, Heyworth, Gibson City-Melvin Sibley, Roanoke Benson, Urbana, Leland, Lostant, Delavan, Milford, Woodland, and Macomb, all had higher total tax rates.
Just below Unit 5 on the total tax rate rankings in central Illinois are: Prairie Central, Tri Valley, Springfield, El Paso–Gridley, LeRoy, and Olympia.
If a successful referendum total tax rate of $4.92 per $100 of assessed valuation were applied to the current data from schools, Unit 5 would drop more than 100 spots to 199th on the list. Unit 5’s total tax rate if voters approve the proposal would be lower than 23% of Illinois districts are now. Or, put another way, Unit 5’s total tax rate after the referendum would be higher than 77% of Illinois districts.
If voters again reject the referendum, the total Unit 5 property tax rate could fall to $4.83 per $100 of assessed value. That would rank 240th among all districts, about the 72nd percentile among rates.
Again, this may not be the most accurate metric for comparison. The entire pack of Illinois schools includes many tiny districts with few students, districts that spend far less per student than Unit 5, and those that have many fewer programs than Unit 5.
Statewide ed fund tax rate
The Unit 5 referendum would impact the education fund tax rate. That is only one component of the total tax rate for the district. ISBE data showed Unit 5 ranked 302nd at $2.72 per $100 of assessed valuation among the close to 900 districts statewide. About a third of all Illinois school districts have higher education fund rates than Unit 5, according to ISBE.
Danville CC Dist 118 has the same education fund rate as Unit 5. Among those with higher rates:
- Galesburg – 300th at $2.73
- Pontiac CC District 429 – 231st at 2.92
- Bloomington District 87 – 173rd at $3.12
- Deer Creek Mackinaw – 167th at 3.15
- Rock Island – 151st at $3.2
- Moline – 136th at $3.27
- Tremont – 133rd at $3.29
- Low Point Washburn – 130th at $3.3
- Prairie Central – 129th at $3.3
- El Paso-Gridley - 112th at $3.4
- Tri Valley – 111th at $3.4
- Champaign – 93rd at $3.497
- Heyworth - 92nd at $3.5
- Blue Ridge – 77th at $3.6
- GCMS – 76th at $3.6
- Springfield – 73rd at $3.618
- Fieldcrest – 72nd at $3.623
- Roanoke Benson – 63rd at $3.68
- Delavan – 31st at $3.93
- Peoria Heights 26th at $4
- Morton – 21st at $4.03
- Urbana – 20th at $4.11
Central Illinois school districts with lower ed fund rates than Unit 5’s current rate include: Danville, Dunlap, Pekin, East Peoria, Rantoul, Olympia, Pontiac CC Dist 428, Deer Creek Mackinaw, Eureka, Tremont, Mount Pulaski, Low Point-Washburn, Prairie Central, El Paso-Gridley.
If voters approve the referendum, Unit 5’s education fund rate eventually would go up 88 cents to $3.60. If that rate were in effect today, Unit 5 would be tied for 74th to 78th with Astoria in Fulton County, Ford County’s Gibson City-Melvin Sibley, and Blue Ridge in DeWitt County.
If voters approve the referendum, the impact on the owner of a home worth $208,000 would be a reduction of $62 per year, after all rate changes are applied in 2026. If voters reject the referendum again, if enough cuts are made to stabilize the budget without short-term borrowing from working cash fund bonds, and when all building bonds are paid off, the owner of that same home would see their Unit 5 tax bill drop by $498.
