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.
May 13, 2026 • By Amanda Kass, Kristan Wong Karinen, Rita Jefferson
State lawmakers are debating whether to subsidize a new Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, but this bill creates a new statewide property tax cut program for large development projects.
March 30, 2026 • By Rita Jefferson
Taxing tourists is a relatively efficient way to ensure that visitors are paying a share of essential government services. Places with a modest number of tourists should limit general sales tax rates to minimize the effect on the full-time population. Places with higher proportions of tourists may have higher sales…
April 22, 2026 • By Rita Jefferson
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is gearing up to tax the rich — if they live elsewhere but own multimillion-dollar properties in New York City. Read more.
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…
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