Big Cook County property taxes are coming, especially for many in the south suburbs

Historic property tax increases will hit the mailboxes of south suburban homeowners in the coming weeks, according to a new analysis from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office, which shows average tax bills there rising 19.9% ​​compared to last year, the largest leap in the past 29 years. years.

According to the report, more than 327,500 suburban homeowners living south of North Avenue will see higher bills this year. About 107,000 homeowners in the southern suburbs will see lower bills.

In Park Forest, where the average bill rose $2,567 to $7,152, Mayor Joseph Woods called the increases a “catastrophe” for homeowners and said the village is working to influence policy changes at the county and state levels as they look towards subsidies to prevent this. have to raise more taxes at the village level.

“We know there appears to be some unfairness or inequality in the way properties are valued,” Woods said in an interview Wednesday. “So we are looking at every option and trying to lobby everyone.”

The village is divided between Cook County and Will County. Woods said the difference in taxes is stark depending on which side of the border people live.

In more than a dozen Cook County suburbs, average bills have increased by more than 30%. That includes Dixmoor, where the average homeowner tax bill rose from $1,073 last year to $1,950 this year, and Hazel Crest, where the average bill rose $1,586 to $5,651.

Some frustrated residents are also placing heavy blame on the county, including state employee Patricia Harris, who said she believes her Fifth Avenue home in Phoenix was assessed unfairly compared to her neighbors.

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi valued her home, where she has lived since 1997, at $140,000, up nearly 170% from the year before. In contrast, two other houses within two blocks, which Harris said were “almost identical” to hers, built by the same architect around the same time, were assessed at $65,000.

“You can clearly see it’s the same house,” Harris said in an interview Wednesday. “How can mine be valued at so much more?”

Harris filed an appeal, which was rejected by the evaluator. She said she plans to appeal again but is frustrated by the number of steps she has to go through to get relief. “First they tell you no, then you go back and appeal it, and then it goes to the (Board of Review), and then they make adjustments. Why do people have to experience that?”

The difference in her bill was even greater. It rose from $1,612 last year to a total of $8,855. According to the treasurer, the average bill in Phoenix has nearly doubled, from $900 to $1,744. Harris hopes to make ends meet for the next two years until she is old enough to potentially qualify for a senior exemption.

“Homeowners shouldn’t have to go through the mental stress they go through just wondering if they can still afford their house,” Harris said. “You’re taking people out of their homes.”

Meanwhile, owners of industrial or commercial properties such as factories, shops or offices in the southern suburbs saw their average bill fall by around 8.5% year on year, the report found.

Across the country, property owners are paying $700 million more in taxes, a 4% increase over last year, just below the 4.1% inflation rate.

After years of delays, the county’s tax departments — the assessor, board of review, clerk and treasurer — have managed to send out bills on time. Nearly all bills are now on the treasurer’s website and are due by August 1.

There is one exception: the appraiser incorrectly calculated the land value of more than 4,400 homes in the southern and southwestern suburbs, leading to massive overestimations for homes on larger plots.

“We will process Certificates of Error for these properties,” said Kaegi spokesman Christian Belanger. “Property values ​​will be corrected in time for affected homeowners to receive accurate tax bills” scheduled to be mailed in early July.

Several factors play a role in the increase in bills. The fees imposed by local villages, schools and park districts are significant. Nationwide, school districts increased their levies the most per dollar amount, seeking $573 million more through 2022, an increase of just over 6%, according to the analysis.

Kaegi’s valuations are another important factor. The southern suburbs just underwent their triennial reassessment last year, where homes and businesses were assigned new values ​​by the appraiser and where property owners could appeal those values ​​to the county’s Board of Review.

Total assessed residential property values ​​“increased significantly” in the Southland, while commercial values ​​fell, the study by Treasurer Maria Pappas’ research department found. A successful appeal to the Board of Review “recalibrated” the values ​​of Kaegi’s office, both the treasurer and the reviewer found.

The board “slashed more than 21% of the total assessed value of commercial and industrial properties whose owners appealed,” the treasurer’s report shows. They have reduced the total value of the homes by approximately 4.4%.

According to the appraiser, the largest burden shifts occurred in Bloom and Stickney townships, where residential property’s share of assessed value rose 6 percentage points after an appeal to the Board of Review. After these calls, Chicago Heights, Calumet City, Alsip, Dolton and Justice all saw significant shifts.

The assessor’s COVID-19 adjustment — which reduced readings by about 10% — also ended in the Southland. At the same time, the turmoil in the housing market has led to an increase in sales prices and values ​​compared to the assessment three years ago. It’s like a coupon expiring while the price of a good rises. The same phenomenon contributed to the large tax bills in the northern suburbs last year.

Taxes are a zero-sum game. When one property owner pays less, others make up the difference. All told, new assessments, successful commercial appeals, and the end of the COVID adjustment have resulted in a shift in tax burden and an increase in bills: nearly 74% of homeowners will owe more, while nearly 70% of commercial property owners will pay less.

Other new elements played a role in the accounts this year. Thanks to these rising home values, nearly 4,200 homeowners in the south suburbs, who previously received enough tax breaks through exemptions to avoid paying taxes, will get a bill this year. These bills range from just a few cents to almost $11,000.

While it’s likely an unwelcome change for the homeowners who just want to get on with it, it’s a relief for neighbors who previously had to pay more in taxes to make up the difference. Municipal administrators also prefer a broad tax base to spread the burden of their levies.

Rising property values ​​also led to a decline in overall tax rates in the southern suburbs, where rates are already among the highest in the country.

However, this rate reduction did not lead to a tax benefit. Park Forest, for example, saw its tax rate drop from 43.5% in 2022 to 23.6% in 2023. But as home prices soared while commercial values ​​fell, commercial property owners got a break and homeowners were left with higher bills . The average tax for businesses was halved, from $14,953 to $7,175, while homeowners’ bills rose 56% to $7,152, the treasurer’s report found. However, that rate drop could make the village a little more attractive for homeowners and businesses to live there.

Another new element: Kaegi closed what he considered a “loophole,” whereby buildings with both residential and commercial uses were assessed as if they were exclusively residential. Commercial buildings are appraised at 25% of their market value, while homes and apartments are appraised at 10% of their market value.

Kaegi decided to subdivide certain of those buildings, leading to significant revaluations in the southern and southwestern suburbs. If a mixed-use building with at least seven units had a square footage between 20,000 and 99,999 square feet and 35% or more of that square footage is used for commercial purposes, Kaegi gave it a new rating with both commercial and residential rates.

The treasurer’s analysis showed that Kaegi had closed the ‘loophole’ on 174 properties in the Southland. Their average tax bill shot up 43.6%, the analysis showed. Closing these loopholes will have an even greater impact in Chicago, which is currently under reassessment.

“If you don’t like what’s going on, you need to stand up, go to the polls and express your concerns,” Pappas said during an interview Wednesday. “Doing nothing creates this problem.”

She also said residents should take a longer look at the line items on their bill to get a better idea of ​​where their money is going.

“The south suburbs have been a model of the inequities in the state’s property tax system for decades, and after three decades of rising, they have only gotten worse.”

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