Rita is a Local Analyst who focuses on equity and fairness. Prior to joining ITEP, Rita worked for the Cook County Treasurer’s Office on research related to property taxation, tax collection, and municipal debt. She has also worked on issues including fines and fees, state block grants, and homelessness prevention.
She has a Master of Public Policy from the Harris School at the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Chicago.
December 19, 2025 • By Neva Butkus, Rita Jefferson
This proposal would disrupt the state’s housing market and jeopardize local revenues while doing very little to help workers and families struggling to pay their property tax bills – just as Prop 13 did in California.
November 17, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson
Vacancy taxes will not single-handedly solve problems in cities, but they are worth considering to address housing shortages, land use, and building thriving communities.
March 5, 2026 • By Rita Jefferson
Rita Jefferson, local analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said this approach fails to get at the root problem. She said generally, property tax growth caps are done on a state-wide level, rather than county by county, and she called the 0% tax cap “extremely unusual.” Read…
February 24, 2026 • By Rita Jefferson
The year-old senior tax freeze in St. Louis County, which allows seniors to lock in a portion of their property tax bills as property values appreciate, has already poked holes in school district budgets in its first year. Districts in the county expect losses to mount as property values rise,…
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