MOUNT VERNON, Ill. — A new report finds Illinois oil and natural gas producing counties collected more than $89 million in real estate property taxes on state oil and natural gas reserves from 2007-2017. The Illinois Petroleum Resources Board (IPRB) report entitled “Illinois Oil and Natural Gas Property Tax Payments 2007-2017” is based on county-level property tax revenue data posted on the Illinois Department of Revenue website.
IPRB estimates that at least $44.5 million of that revenue went to fund public education in producing counties, based on the fact that at least half of Illinois oil and natural gas reserve property tax revenues go to fund public education. The remaining revenues stay local, going to fund various local public services, including fire departments, local hospital districts, public library districts, park districts, county governments and townships.
“Illinois oil and natural gas producers continue to pump important revenues into local coffers, and the industry is a particularly important source of public education funding in producing counties,” IPRB Executive Director Seth Whitehead said. “The millions in revenue generated for public education during the report period was all the more significant considering it came during a time in which there were significant state-level funding shortfalls in Illinois.”
Below are the report’s findings, by the numbers:
• Illinois oil and gas reserve property taxes collected, 2007-2017: $89M
• Amount of that revenue that went to schools in producing counties: $44.5M
• Top-15 producing county oil and gas property tax revenue: $79M
• Amount that went to fund schools in top-15 producing counties: $39.5M
IPRB estimates that 89 percent of the total $89 million in property tax revenue generated by oil and natural gas reserves was generated in the state’s top-15 producing counties, illustrated in the graphic below.
IPRB conservatively estimates that at least $39.5 million in property tax revenue generated by oil and gas reserves in Illinois’ top-15 producing counties went to fund public education in those counties. Detailed fact sheets for each of Illinois’ top-15 producing counties can be downloaded below.
