West Cook News

Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin is on the November ballot for re-election to his west suburban state House seat.

But he's also trying to move from his longtime home in Western Springs' Forest Hills subdivision, according to Zillow.com.

Durkin and his wife, Celeste, have their 3,500 square-foot four bedroom, four bath home at 4719 Grand Ave. listed for $999,000, down from an original asking price of $1.15 million.

House GOP Leader Jim Durkin | State of Illinois

They originally listed the home for sale on April 3, two weeks after he easily prevailed over Burr Ridge Mayor Mickey Straub in a March primary challenge to his 82nd District seat.

L.W. Reedy of Elmhurst has the listing.

In 2003, the Durkins paid $675,000 for the home, which is $924,992 in today's dollars. 

Cook County currently values the home at $738,720.

Their property tax bill is $15,367, an effective property tax rate of 1.54 percent of their asking price. That's lower than Western Springs' current median rate of 1.67 percent, or $9,127 on a median-priced home of $545,000.

Since 2003, Durkin has paid $169,558 in property taxes on the home. His tax bill has risen 87 percent, from $8,203 in 2003

Durkin took a hiatus from the House in 2002 to run for U.S. Senate, defeating Jim Oberweis and current California GOP Gubernatorial candidate John Cox in the primary before falling to incumbent U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, 60 percent to 38 percent.

Durkin, who initially served in the state House from 1995-2003, representing a since re-drawn district centered in his boyhood home of Westchester, was appointed to a new  House seat in 2006, when then State Rep. Eileen Lyons (R-Western Springs) resigned mid-term. He was elected House GOP Leader in 2013, replacing Tom Cross.

Democrat Tom Chlystek of Darien is Durkin's 2018 opponent.

The 82nd District includes parts of Western Springs, Lemont, Burr Ridge, Homer Glen, Darien and Willowbrook.