Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel reportedly wants Springfield to act on lifting the exemption for homeowners in an effort to provide some of them with relief from the record property tax hike he is considering. 

Under Emanuel's exemption plan, owners of homes worth no more than $250,000 would reportedly be spared from the $500 property tax increase the mayor is expected to put forward on September 22.

But even if the mayor's homeowner exemption proposal gets through the state's legislative chambers, it would still need the support of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who is pushing for a state property tax freeze.

Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly did not directly answer, when asked by the Chicago Sun-Times, whether the governor would sign such a homeowner exemption measure.

Instead, she said that "the governor has proposed legislation that would freeze property taxes and provide significant new support for CPS" (Chicago Public Schools), adding that, "Raising taxes alone won't fix our problems. We need structural reforms to help cities like Chicago control costs."