By John N. McGovern, Executive Director, Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association, Northbrook, IL

The Illinois General Assembly did the right thing in November 2003.

In the spring legislative session, the state House and Senate passed a bill creating an exclusion from the statewide property tax cap. The exclusion was for the tax that park districts can levy to fund recreation for people with disabilities, provided through intergovernmental agreements called special recreation associations.

Everyone moans when the discussion turns to property taxes. But this tax is so low that most people are amazed. How low? For every $100,000 of home value, the maximum tax levy is $6 per year.

Read the entire story at http://www.ncpad.org/168/1296/Illinois~Legislators~Do~the~Right~Thing. For information about special recreation associations (SRAs), contact John McGovern at NSSRA at 847-509-9400 or jmcgovern@nssra.org.