Tale of Two (Chicago) Neighborhoods

In the West Garfield neighborhood of Chicago, median property taxes are going up 46.4% this year. That's right, in a single year, property taxes are going up almost 50%.

This is what the West Garfield neighborhood looks like:



As just about everybody on the planet knows, President Obama also has a home in Chicago. Six-thousand-plus square feet, 7 baths, etc. It looks like this:


Obama's taxes are going up 1% this year.

That's the same rate of increase as for the Illinois Treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias. Mayor Richard Daley's property taxes went up 3.5%. Rahm Emanuel's went up 3.7%.

Surely there's a great explanation. Because taxes will not be going up for the middle class, just the rich. We have that on good authority.

Hat tips: Economic Policy Journal, TaxProf Blog.
__________