The headlines are flush with large new projects. The Park District of Oak Park is asking for $40 million for a new pool, projected to increase taxes $160/yr on a median home [1]. OPRF’s $100 million “Project 2” has so depleted reserves that Projects 3-5 will require referendums in the coming years [2]. Replacing village hall and the police department is projected to cost $87M-$169M [3]. D97 recently unveiled a 10-year, $86 million facilities master plan [4].
Though the park district says “only $160/year,” collectively these projects will stack up, likely adding thousands of dollars to our property tax bills in the coming years.
Our total property tax levy has already grown significantly in the last five years, from $201M to $238M, nearly a 20% increase. On a $12,000/year tax bill, that’s roughly $2,000 more than five years ago [5]. These new projects look to continue, if not amplify that trend.
A major driver of this tax growth is our schools. Seventy percent of our tax bill goes to education [6], and OPRF D200 spends a stunning $26,340 per pupil [7]. Let’s put what we spend in the context of some of our peer school districts.
Evanston Township H.S. spends an eye watering $30,189 per student [8]. Morton High School District, serving Berwyn, Cicero, and Stickney, spends only $19,224 per pupil [9]. Three public high school districts in the same county, separated by a few miles, with an $11,000/student gap from the top to the bottom.
How does this happen? OPRF is 79% locally funded by property taxes, ETHS is 86%. Morton is only funded 35% by local taxes. The state backfills 41% through its Evidence-Based Funding formula [10]. The wealthy districts are essentially self-funding private-caliber schools through the property tax system. The state tries to equalize, but can’t stop wealthy districts from outspending their working-class neighbors.
But there’s no state equalization outside of education. Oak Park spends $1,057/household on parks and libraries per year. Cicero spends $234 [11]. That’s a 4x difference in funding for essential public services. Oak Park’s library alone ($505/hh) outspends Cicero’s parks and library combined ($234/hh) by a factor of two.
The average affluent suburban family pays thousands of dollars more per year for their schools, parks, libraries and other amenities, compared to their more blue-collar suburban neighbors. These tax levels don’t just buy better services, they enforce membership. River Forest’s $14,496/household annual levy is a price of admission that most Cook County families cannot afford [12]. The median household income in Cicero is $68,548. In River Forest it’s $148,711 [13]. The taxes sort the population.
Evanston, Oak Park, and River Forest are all communities that pride themselves on their progressive values. They pass equity resolutions, support the unions, and champion public institutions. But the entire enterprise is funded by a financial model that’s exclusionary by design. The “public” pool, the “public” library, the “public” school are all gated by a tax levy that’s functionally a membership fee. A membership fee most union members, ironically, can’t afford.
We’ve built a country club where the dues are our tax bill, creating a virtual wall around our affluent communities. In the coming years, when you are asked to approve that next $200/year referendum, the question isn’t just “Do we want a nice pool?” It’s “How high do we want that wall?”
Sources listed online at oakpark.com
[1] Park District of Oak Park [Indoor Pool Referendum] (https://pdop.org/indoor-pool/). $40M bond, $160.30/yr on median-valued home ($430K). Referendum March 17.
[2] OPRF High School [Facilities and Construction] (https://www.oprfhs.org/about/facilities). Board approved $102M for Project 2 (gym wing): $44.2M cash reserves, $45.3M debt certificates, $12.5M donations.
[3] Wednesday Journal, [“Oak Park board reviews designs for new ‘municipal campus’ project”] (https://www.oakpark.com/2025/11/20/oak-park-board-reviews-designs-for-new-municipal-campus-project) Nov. 20, 2025. Multi-site option ~$87M (board’s chosen path); single-site ~$98M; original full designs $140-$169M.
[4] Oak Park D97, Master Facility Plan Update (Recommendation A), presented at Board of Education Regular Meeting, Dec. 9, 2025 [Video] at 51:37. Priority 1 (2026-2030): $34.9M across all 10 schools. Priority 2 & 3 (2031-2035): $51.1M. Total: $86M.
[5] Cook County Clerk, [Tax Extension and Rates] (https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/property-taxes/tax-extension-and-rates), 2019-2024.
[6] Cook County Clerk Tax Extension Reports, 2024. Oak Park school levies (D97 + prorated D200) = $167.2M of $238.3M total (70.2%).
[7] Illinois Report Card, [Oak Park-River Forest D200], Finance. $26,339.98 total per-pupil expenditure.
[8] Illinois Report Card, [Evanston Twp D202] Finance. $30,189.32 total per-pupil expenditure.
[9] Illinois Report Card, [JS Morton D201] Finance. $19,224.23 total per-pupil expenditure.
[10] ISBE, [2025 Report Card Public Data Set] Finance sheet. D200 79.2% local / 6.0% state EBF; D202 86.2% local / 2.8% state EBF; D201 35.4% local / 40.8% state EBF.
[11] Cook County Clerk Tax Extension Reports, 2024; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2023 (household/hh). Oak Park: library $504.84/hh + parks $551.90/hh = $1,056.74/hh. Cicero: library $77.70/hh + parks $156.39/hh = $234.09/hh.
[12] Cook County Clerk Tax Extension Reports, 2024; Census ACS 2023. River Forest total levy $61,969,973 / 4,275 households = $14,495.90/hh.
[13] U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2023, Table B19013. River Forest median household income: $148,711. Cicero: $68,548.