A Zion property tax bill comes out lower than the levies behind it, and the reason is on the lakefront. Under state law, Zion's taxing bodies receive grants because spent nuclear fuel is still stored at the former Zion Nuclear Power Station. Three quarters of that money has to go to lowering property taxes. A separate agreement fixes what the plant site itself pays, and it covers tax years 2022 through 2026 and no later.
If you are comparing Zion with Gurnee, Waukegan or Winthrop Harbor, the tax history on a listing shows the bill after these abatements. To understand that number, it helps to know where the money comes from and which dates it depends on.
A parcel that used to carry the town
The Zion plant closed in the late 1990s. In a WQAD report on the town's recovery, Mayor Al Hill said, "We lost half the value of our community when the plant closed." The same report said the plant once paid roughly $19.5 million a year in taxes. In February 2026, a press release from State Sen. Mary Edly-Allen said the closure brought a 143% rise in property tax rates as the city lost a major taxpayer.
The only thing left on the site is a dry cask storage installation: a concrete pad holding 65 canisters of spent fuel and other high-level waste. The Zion Power Station ISFSI Parcel Agreement says the waste stays until the U.S. Department of Energy removes it. That agreement is between Constellation Energy and every taxing body that can tax the parcel, including the City of Zion, Zion Elementary School District 6, Zion-Benton Township High School District 126, the Zion Park District and the Zion-Benton Public Library. It sets the parcel's equalized assessed value at $8,332,500 and its total tax payment at $1,370,480 for each tax year from 2022 through 2026.
For scale, District 6's total equalized assessed value for tax year 2025 was $352,514,246, according to the Lake County Clerk's TY2025 certification. The plant parcel makes up less than 3% of that. Homes and businesses carry most of the rest.
Those fixed figures stop at tax year 2026. For later years, the agreement says any party may argue for "any value or methodology of valuation for any tax year after tax year 2026."
The state pays by the kilogram
The offset comes from the Energy Transition Community Grants section of Illinois law. The section was created by the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and amended in 2025. It says the taxing bodies for a nuclear plant decommissioned before Jan. 1, 2021, receive grants of $15 per kilogram of spent fuel stored there. Federal payments based on the stored waste and property tax payments are subtracted, and 75% of the grant money must be used to abate property taxes. The state's program listing says the Zion Nuclear Power Station is the only plant this provision affects, and it names 10 eligible taxing bodies.
The state's current award list shows eight grants. All of them start May 1, 2026.
| Taxing body | Award | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Zion Elementary School District 6 | $5,669,542 | April 30, 2028 |
| Zion-Benton Township High School District 126 | $3,415,464 | April 30, 2028 |
| City of Zion | $2,051,835 | April 30, 2028 |
| Zion Park District | $925,543 | April 30, 2028 |
| Lake County | $587,517 | April 30, 2028 |
| Zion-Benton Public Library District | $337,449 | April 30, 2027 |
| College of Lake County | $294,881 | April 30, 2028 |
| Zion Township | $255,300 | April 30, 2028 |
| Total | $13,537,531 |
The program page also tells each taxing body to pass a resolution for property tax year 2026 that authorizes 75% of the grant for abatement.
Why the levy goes up so the bill can come down
At the Dec. 2, 2025 City Council meeting, the city administrator explained a proposed 8.77% levy increase. For the 2024 levy, the city had cut about $1 million below its normal tax-cap level. The state reimburses taxes that are abated, though, not taxes that were never levied. So the city has to set the levy at the normal level and then abate it with grant money.
For the 2025 levy, that meant an estimate of $9,037,238. After the abatement, the city expected to extend $7,498,361 and said city taxes collected from residents and businesses would be 15% below their 2023 high. In the county's TY2025 municipal report, certified in April 2026, the City of Zion's levy is $9,165,648.10 and its extension is $7,581,797.43.
So the headline levy and the amount actually billed can point in opposite directions. A truth-in-taxation notice can show an increase in the same year the bill drops.
District 6 shows the same pattern on a larger scale. On Jan. 26, 2026, its board approved two abatement resolutions for the 2025 levy year: one for a state Property Tax Relief Grant and one for the CEJA Energy Transition grant. In the county certifications, the district's rate was 5.190264 with an extension of $16,370,042.62 for tax year 2024. For tax year 2025 it was 3.996344 with an extension of $14,087,681.99. The rate for tax year 2025, the same levy year both abatement resolutions cover, came in more than a full point lower.
The February fix that protects the tax cap
Abatement used this way had a built-in problem. Most Lake County taxing bodies are under the state's tax cap, and the cap grows from the prior year's extension. If a district abates part of its levy, the next year's cap starts from a smaller number. In effect, the grant would lower the district's future taxing room.
Public Act 104-0460 became law Feb. 27, 2026, and closes that gap. Starting with levy year 2026, it covers districts that contain a decommissioned nuclear plant that was storing waste before Jan. 1, 2021. If such a district abated under the energy grant, its cap base is calculated as if the abated amount had been extended. Sen. Edly-Allen's office said that without the fix, Zion could lose access to nearly $20 million in funding meant to lower local taxes.
That protects the districts' capacity to tax. It does not lower anyone's bill directly. Its main effect is that a district can keep abating each year without shrinking its own budget in later years.
Tax year 2026 is where these timelines meet
Several dates line up this season. Tax year 2026 is the last year of the plant parcel agreement, the first levy year under Public Act 104-0460, and the year the state asked each grant recipient to pass an abatement resolution. In Lake County, those 2026 levies show up on bills payable in 2027.
On the calendar:
- Oct. 15: The Zion Park District board agenda listed a "Tax Year 2026 Property Tax Levy Estimate for Fiscal Year 2027-2028."
- Nov. 17: The Zion City Council and the District 126 Board of Education each have a meeting scheduled.
- Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.: The Zion Park District holds its regular meeting.
- Dec. 29: Last year, the City of Zion described its deadline for filing the levy with the county as the last Tuesday in December. This year that falls on Dec. 29.
Two dates further out also matter. Most of the current grant awards end April 30, 2028, and the library's ends April 30, 2027. The plant parcel agreement does not set any value for tax year 2027 or later.
What this means for a buyer reading a Zion tax history
A Zion tax bill is made up of separate pieces, and each taxing body handles its own levy and abatement. A drop in one line, like District 6's rate between tax years 2024 and 2025, can come from a grant-funded abatement rather than a change in what the district spends. Three kinds of public records show where each line comes from:
- County certifications: The Lake County Clerk publishes each district's certified rate and extension every spring. The TY2025 figures were certified in April 2026.
- Board minutes: Abatement resolutions are recorded in each body's minutes, as District 6's January 2026 vote was.
- Truth-in-taxation notices: These show the levy before abatement, which can be higher than what ends up on the bill.
For anyone comparing a Zion home with one a few miles away, it helps to know what the bill on a listing does and does not reflect. It reflects state money paid because spent fuel is stored on the lakefront. Under the statute, the grant amount depends on how much fuel is stored there, and the plant site's own tax payment is fixed only through tax year 2026.
This post is general information about public tax records and state law. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, check with a tax professional or attorney, and confirm the details of a specific property with the Lake County offices that handle it.
Quick answers
Is the spent fuel leaving Zion? According to the parcel agreement, it stays until the Department of Energy removes it. Once that happens, the rest of the site will be dismantled and decommissioned.
Does Public Act 104-0460 cut my taxes? No. It changes how a qualifying district's tax cap base is calculated starting with levy year 2026. The abatement itself comes from the grant and each district's resolution.
Which bodies have Energy Transition grants right now? The state award list names eight: the City of Zion, Districts 6 and 126, the Zion Park District, the Zion-Benton Public Library District, Zion Township, Lake County and the College of Lake County.
Questions about a Zion property tax bill usually come up partway through a decision, often when someone is weighing a home there against one in a neighboring town. Team Pimentel can go through a property's tax history with you, point you to the county and district records behind each line, and connect you with the right tax professional when you need one. Work With Us.
