Want to see your property tax bills before you receive them in the mail (to be mailed April 27)? The Kane County Clerk has them available now online at http://www.co.kane.il.us/coc/Tax/tax.asp. In the left column under “Tax Extension”, click on “Current Tax Search”, then enter your parcel number or street name to locate your property.

The Daily Herald reports the average tax bill in Kane County will increase $53, less than one percent. That will vary based on things like which taxing districts you belong to, the assessed value of your home, and whether your home gained or lost value relative to others’ homes.

The smaller-than-average increase undoubtedly owes much to the tax cap law that limits many Kane taxing bodies to levy increases of no more than 5% or CPI (Consumer Price Index), whichever is less, plus new construction (excluding debt payments). The CPI was less than one percent last year.

Though the Daily Herald article mentions Batavia, Geneva, and St. Charles among the lowest bills in Kane County, it is little comfort when one is comparing bad to worse.