Mall owners, school districts spar over property taxes in Evergreen Park, Ill.

From The Chicago Tribune: The owners of a mall in Evergreen Park, Ill., are battling two local school districts over property taxes they say are burying them in debt. Administrators with Evergreen Park's high school and elementary school districts are pushing back. They say they need the $460,000 in 2008 property taxes that owners of The Plaza are challenging as excessive. The districts' dependence on property taxes is higher than the state average. More than 84 percent of the high school district’s budget in 2008 came from property taxes; In Evergreen Park Elementary School District 124, 73.9 percent came from property taxes.