The State of Illinois announced Friday that Grundy County’s tentative property assessment equalization factor has been set at 1.0000.

This is according to David Harris, the Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. This factor, according to the news release, is a method used to achieve uniform property assessments among counties.

“This equalization is particularly important because some of the state’s 6,600 local taxing districts overlap into two or more counties,” reads the news release. “If there was no equalization among counties, substantial inequities among taxpayers with comparable properties would result.”

According to the news release, state law requires Illinois properties to be assessed at one-third of their market value. Farm property is assessed differently, with farm homesites and dwellings subject to regular assessment and equalization. Farmland and farm buildings are assessed according to productivity standards.

The tentative factor could change if the County Board of Review takes actions that affect the assessments, or if local officials present data showing IDOR’s estimates of the average level of assessments in the county should be adjusted.

“A change in the equalization factor does not mean total property tax bills will increase or decrease,” reads the news release. “Tax bills are determined by local taxing bodies when they request money each year to provide services to local citizens. If the amount requested by local taxing districts is not greater than the amount received in the previous year, then total property taxes will not increase even if assessments may have increased.”

According to the news release, the assessed value of a property determines what portion of the tax burden a specific taxpayer will assume, and that doesn’t change with the multiplier.