SPRINGFIELD-- A possible shift in teacher pension responsibility has many central Illinois residents and politicians looking into property tax rates throughout the state. 

Susan Hofer, with the Illinois Dept. of Revenue says when property taxes are set on the local level, they are in part set by how much an individual county needs, not by how much money a county has…

“Property taxes are assessed at the county level, what the state does is working with the county and reviewing real-estate transactions and set what is called a multiplier.  The state sets the multiplier, but it is based on county sales transactions.”

Hofer says that nearly all of the tax rates are set by the county government. 

The two largest factors when it comes to property tax are the amount of money a county spends coupled with the amount of people living in the county.