Cook County property owners are on the hook for 34.8% more taxes in 2024.
I have read Cook County Treasurer’s Office 2023 Tax Bill Analysis from cover to cover. To help you understand the high property tax bills, we at Nex-Gen created this guide on the Cook County property taxes in 2024.
The total amount billed for all of Cook County in 2023 is over $18.3 billion. This marks a $706 million increase from 2022, which is a 4% increase.
This is the 30th consecutive annual property tax increase in Cook County. After adjusting for inflation, the property tax burden has grown by 34.8% over time. Homeowners will bear most of this burden. They are responsible for nearly $611 million of the new taxes, which is 86.5% of the overall increase. Commercial properties will pick up nearly $103 million.
Homeowners in the south suburbs are particularly hard hit. Fifteen suburbs in this area face homeowner tax increases of over 30%. Taxes for more than 1.3 million homeowners went up.
By region, here are the property tax increases:
- North and Northwest Suburbs: $213.7 million, a 4% increase.
- South and Southwest Suburbs: $265.4 million, a 6.5% increase.
- Chicago properties: $226.8 million, a 2.8% increase.
North and Northwest Suburbs
In suburban Cook County north of North Avenue, taxes rose by $213.7 million. Residential taxes increased by $109.8 million, or 3.2%. Commercial properties saw a $103.1 million, or 5.2% increase.
Nearly 343,400 homeowners experienced tax hikes, while more than 66,400 saw reductions. For commercial properties, taxes rose for more than 18,400 properties, with over 2,300 seeing decreases. The median residential tax bill increased by 3.2% to $7,234, and the commercial median rose by 4.2% to $30,469.
Residential taxes grew by more than 5% in seven municipalities and unincorporated township areas. These areas included Norwood Park Township with a 9.2% increase, Prospect Heights with a 7.9% rise, Niles at 6.2%, Northfield Township at 5.5%, Harwood Heights at 5.4%, Main Township at 5.4%, and Wheeling at 5.2%.
Overall homeowner taxes declined in six municipalities and one unincorporated township area. For example, Elk Grove Township, where the number of homes being taxed decreased by 55 to 189, saw an 18.8% drop. Rosemont's taxes decreased by 3.9%, Melrose Park by 2.2%, Northlake by 2.7%, Franklin Park by 1.7%, and Barrington Hills by 0.2%.
In terms of commercial properties, taxes declined in six municipalities and unincorporated township areas. Notably, unincorporated Schaumburg Township, which lost one of its 14 commercial properties, saw a 37.9% decline. Barrington Township, with just two commercial properties, was down by 14.1%, and Bartlett declined by 8.7%.
Now that you know how high property taxes have been, let me show you where the tax bills have been the highest in Cook County.
Where Taxes Are Highest in Cook County?
Ford Heights, a small village in far southeastern Cook County with a 93% Black population, tops the list for the highest tax increases. This village has a tax rate more than four times higher than Chicago's. This means a homeowner in Ford Heights pays over four times as much in property taxes as a similarly valued home in Chicago.
Following Ford Heights, other areas with high tax rates exceeding 20% include Phoenix, Riverdale, Park Forest, Harvey, Calumet City, and Dolton. Homeowners in these areas pay at least three times as much as those in Chicago, even though their rates have declined this year.
Park Forest, previously holding the highest tax rate in Cook County and one of the highest in the country, saw a significant drop in its tax rate. The rate decreased from 43.5% in 2022 to 23.6% in 2023. This decline was due to the Assessor’s Office determining that the assessed value of all properties in the village had increased by $31.7 million, a 65% jump. Residential assessed values rose from about $38.5 million in 2022 to $71.6 million in 2023, an 86% increase. In contrast, the value of commercial and industrial properties dropped from about $10.3 million to $8.8 million, a 14.7% decrease. Consequently, the median tax on Park Forest homeowners grew by $2,567 to $7,152, a 56% increase, while the median tax on businesses was halved, going from $14,953 to $7,175.
High tax rates are particularly challenging for businesses. Business owners pay at least two-and-a-half times as much as the owners of equally valued residential properties. In Cook County, commercial and industrial properties are valued for tax purposes at 25% of their full market value, while homes are valued at 10%, with owners typically receiving exemptions to ease their tax burden. In the rest of Illinois, homes and businesses are assessed at the same rate of 33.3%. When high taxes force businesses to relocate or close, the resulting loss in tax collections shifts the burden onto remaining property owners, contributing to outsized tax rates in many Cook County communities.
Now let’s proceed to the many factors behind the ultra high property taxes in Cook County in 2022.
What caused the high property tax bills?
The Cook County Treasurer’s Office explained why they made policies that increased the tax bills.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas explained that the first underlying issue causing property tax increases in the south suburbs is the exit of businesses and residents, which depletes the property tax base. She likened the situation to a scale, where the remaining residents and businesses have to bear the tax burden left by those who have departed.
Pappas said, "This commercial building is going to pay less taxes because nobody is in it. So who's left? There are five people on this block, and another five have left. The five people who are left—in Phoenix, for example—are picking up the five people who left Illinois and the commercial building that went down.
In addition, ongoing tax increases are also because of lack of public participation in meetings where tax hike proposals are discussed.
Maria Pappas said, "Each of these governments—every year, once a year, has a meeting about whether or not they're going to increase. You know what? Nobody goes to the meeting. It's like the last election—20% of the people voted. So if 20% of the people don't care enough to come out and do something about the fact that these bills are going up, it will just be 30 more years—because the bills have gone up for 30 years."
To reassure taxpayers, the Cook County Treasurer’s Office included a new feature in their property tax bill - the "Where Your Money Goes". With this, you can type in your address or Property Index Number (PIN) to see a comparison of this year’s bill to last year’s. It also shows the amounts billed by each taxing district and shows whether taxes have gone up or down, basically how your tax dollars are allocated. The new bills will show exactly which government agencies receive tax money.
In particular, the Cook County Treasurer’s Office states eight main factors behind the high property taxes:
Elimination of COVID tax breaks
First - they completely removed all tax breaks related to COVID-19. In 2020, the Cook County Assessor’s reduced assessed values by at least 10%, given that the COVID-19 pandemic would negatively impact home and some business values. But the complete removal of these adjustments resulted in a tax burden shift from commercial properties onto residential ones.
Reassessments
After eliminating the COVID tax breaks, the Cook County Assessors revalued all properties. Nearly 74% of homeowners will owe more in taxes, while about 70% of commercial property owners will pay less. Some homeowners face steep increases, as residential tax bills in the region surged from approximately $2.5 billion to nearly $2.9 billion, a 15.9% jump.
Zero Tax Bills Phenomenon
In recent years, nearly 10,300 homeowners in the south and southwest suburbs paid no property taxes due to exemptions exceeding their homes' assessed values. This phenomenon began in 2018 when the state increased exemption values in Cook County amidst rising taxes in Chicago.
However, this year, 4,189 of these homeowners will owe taxes due to significant increases in home assessments, which rose about 34% overall in these areas. The total amount of new taxes billed to these homeowners surpassed $6.2 million, with the median bill being $1,115 and new bills ranging from a few cents to nearly $11,000.
Closing The Apartment Loophole
The Assessor’s Office reclassified 174 mixed commercial and residential buildings in the south and southwest suburbs. Previously, mixed commercial and apartment buildings with at least seven units or more than 20,000 square feet were classified as residential and assessed at 10% of their market value. This is the “apartment loophole”.
Under the new classification, buildings with at least seven units, or between 20,000 and 99,999 square feet, and more than 35% of their space used for commercial purposes, were reassessed. The residential portion is still assessed at 10%, but the commercial portion is now assessed at 25% of market value.
This reclassification resulted in sharply higher tax bills for many properties. The tax bills on the 174 reclassified properties increased by nearly $1.8 million, or 33%, totaling almost $7.1 million. The median bill rose by 43.6%. Eighteen properties saw their bills more than double, while 29 properties received lower bills, likely due to changes in the properties or successful assessment appeals.
The decision to reclassify these buildings was prompted by a January 2023 report from the Cook County Inspector General’s Office, which criticized the previous classification as a “contradiction.”
Closing this loophole is expected to have a more significant impact in Chicago, which has a larger number of mixed-use properties. According to the Cook County Assessor’s Office, this change aims to ensure that properties with substantial commercial use are taxed appropriately, addressing inconsistencies and potentially increasing the tax burden on such properties. This move is part of broader efforts to ensure a fair and equitable tax system that accurately reflects property usage.
Recapture
The 2021 state law aimed at protecting local taxing districts from government assessment errors continues to impact tax bills. This law, known as recapture, added an additional $136.3 million to bills across Cook County. The recapture law allows school districts, park districts, and other agencies to recover funds refunded to taxpayers who had their assessments lowered by the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, state courts, or county offices.
These refunds initially came out of the taxing districts' bank accounts, reducing their available funds for paying bills. Large refunds sometimes hindered their ability to provide essential services.
To compensate for lost revenue, the county Clerk is required to increase levies the following year by the amount of property taxes refunded by school districts and other agencies. Agencies have the option to reject the increase. This year, 14 school districts and the Oak Park Park District declined the increase, reducing the overall recaptured amount by more than $7 million. Among them was Palatine Township High School District 211, which rejected a $2.5 million levy boost that would have been the county's fifth highest.
Many taxing districts still received millions in additional funds this year. Chicago Public Schools received nearly $41.9 million, the countywide Metropolitan Water Reclamation District received nearly $8.4 million, the Chicago Park District received more than $3.8 million, and Arlington Heights Township High School District 214 received nearly $3.8 million.
Levy Increases
What keeps driving up property taxes in Cook County is the amount levied by its governmental units, such as schools, village and city halls, libraries, and fire districts. Out of the 941 taxing agencies in Cook County, 687 (or 73%) increased their levies. Levies can increase for three reasons: agencies request more money, new properties are built generating additional tax revenue, and money is recaptured.
School districts had the most significant levy increases in terms of dollar amounts. Overall, they sought $472.1 million more in 2023, a 5% increase. The increase was greater than 5% in some districts due to taxes on new properties, recaptured money, bond payment allocations, and higher annual increases authorized through referendums.
Under state law, schools can raise taxes by the prior year’s consumer price index (CPI) or by 5%, whichever is less. Since the CPI rose 8% in 2022, school districts could raise taxes by up to 5% unless voters agree to exceed these limits through a referendum.
Municipal governments had the second-highest overall tax increase in 2023, raising taxes by $54.8 million, or about 1.8%. The third-highest increase came from community colleges, which increased their levies by $21.4 million, or 4.7%.
These increases across various governmental units contribute significantly to the overall rise in property taxes in Cook County.
TIF
Another reason why property taxes are still so high is because the amount owed to Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts throughout Cook County was nearly $1.7 billion, an increase of $80.5 million. Only a small portion of TIF money goes to local taxing bodies and most is reimbursed to developers.
Only a small portion of TIF money goes to local taxing bodies, and this happens under specific scenarios. TIF money can be declared surplus and then distributed to taxing districts, used to build schools or infrastructure, or returned to taxing districts through underlying agreements. In Chicago’s two transit TIF districts, which fund the Red Line modernization and extension, CPS gets all the money that would have been diverted, and 20% of the money that would have gone to other government agencies is returned to them.
TIF districts, which are controlled by municipal governments and typically expire after 23 years, divert new taxes collected from increased assessments until they close. Critics argue that TIF districts take money away from schools and local governments, forcing them to increase taxes. Proponents counter that without TIF districts, the revenue might never have existed, as they increase the overall tax base and create jobs. Money in TIF districts tends to increase the most in reassessed areas, but this year, the south and southwest suburbs saw minimal gains due to declining commercial property values.
Nearly 70% of this year's $80.5 million increase in TIF bills will go to districts in Chicago. In Chicago, 110 of 125 TIF districts expect to collect more in property taxes, with taxes increasing by at least $1 million in 14 districts. The Chicago-Kinzie Conservation TIF district led all TIFs in tax increases, rising by $16.3 million to $150.9 million. Taxes also jumped in Chicago’s two transit TIF districts by a combined $11.4 million to $86.3 million. Another significant increase occurred in the Chicago-Central West TIF district, where taxes rose by $5.7 million to $47.1 million.
In contrast, TIF districts in the south and southwest suburbs saw minimal gains, billing $13.1 million more for a total of $218.2 million. Of the 225 TIF districts in these suburbs, 72 billed less than last year or nothing at all, due to a drop in the assessed value of properties. The biggest decline was in the Interstate Crossings TIF district, home to an Amazon distribution facility in Markham, which billed $5 million less than last year for a total of $15 million. The Park Forest-Downtown TIF district billed $1.8 million less, totaling $1.7 million. The Richton Park-Lakewood TIF district billed about half of last year's amount, totaling $1.3 million.
Several suburbs saw their total TIF revenue decline by more than $1 million from last year. However,some TIF districts saw substantial revenue increases. For example, Willow Springs TIF District #2's billing jumped from $9,900 last year to $6.9 million this year, likely due to new buildings. In Cicero’s five TIF districts, billing increased by $4.6 million to $29.2 million. The smallest increase in TIF district billing was in the north and northwest suburbs, where revenue climbed by $11.2 million to nearly $210 million, with 12 of 85 still-active TIF districts billing less.
Land Value Adjustments
Lastly, property tax bills are so high because well, the Assessor’s Office made a mistake. In fact, they admitted to miscalculating land values for over 4,400 homes in the south and southwest suburbs. These errors led to severe over assessments for homes on larger plots of land. The errors were discovered too late to be corrected before tax bills were calculated, printed, and mailed. So the erroneous bills were put on hold pending corrections.
Now let’s proceed to the actions against the skyrocketing property taxes in Cook County.
What people are doing in Cook County
When faced with these higher property taxes, people in Chicagoland are doing two things: a) appeals; and b) political will.
Appeals
Chicagoland homeowners experienced sticker shock with their latest property tax bills. For instance, Darryl Lloyd of unincorporated Chicago Heights received a tax bill with clerical errors. His second installment tax bill soared from $1,800 to over $30,000, a staggering 3,811% increase. The Cook County Assessor's Office acknowledged the mistake, explaining that a permit was unintentionally applied to Lloyd's property, erroneously inflating its assessed value into the seven digits. Lloyd contested this as nothing in his area is worth anywhere near $1 million.
Approximately 4,000 certificates of error for land valuations have been submitted, some dating back to 2018, according to the Cook County Assessor's Office. This includes homeowners who missed exemptions for the 2023 tax year. Unfortunately for many, the opportunity to appeal their tax bills has passed. The Assessor's Office stated that homeowners cannot appeal their current tax bills. Homeowners should have submitted an appeal during the reassessment cycle and can continue to appeal when their townships open for appeals in subsequent years. Once townships close, no further appeals can be made. So affected homeowners must pay their tax bills as is.
The Cook County Assessor's Office advises homeowners to check the lower left-hand corner of their second installment property tax bill to ensure all exemptions are listed. If any are missing, homeowners can file a Certificate of Error.
Mayors trying to reverse changes
With suburban residents facing significant increases in their property tax bills, a group of mayors is pushing to reverse some of those charges. Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark is among these mayors, actively pursuing efforts to address the surging property tax bills. He has the "Hold the Tax" initiative. It aims for a 0% increase in the city’s tax levy, encouraging other mayors from surrounding suburbs to do the same. Some local leaders are pledging not to raise municipal taxes to ease the impact on community members.
He emphasized the need for collaboration with state, county, and local officials to find ways to reduce the tax burden. This includes discussions with the assessor, treasurer, and clerk.
Harvey is one of the 15 south suburban communities experiencing property tax bill increases of 30% or more. Harvey residents are concerned about the lack of funds for essential services like law enforcement and the water department and said that revenues should not be at the expense of high property taxes.
Another mayor of an affected area is Mayor Joseph Woods of Park Forest. He stressed the need to change the system in Cook County, pointing out the inconsistencies and lack of uniformity in the assessor’s office. He emphasized that the Cook County Assessor and the Cook County Treasurer must engage with state and county leaders to find long-term solutions to the property tax crisis.
Both mayors believe that holding the tax rate steady provides temporary relief to taxpayers and buys time to develop more sustainable solutions to the property tax crisis.
Conclusion
In total, more than 1.3 million homeowners saw increased property tax bills this year. More than 90% of businesses in Chicago and nearly 90% in the north and northwest suburbs also received higher tax bills.
When faced with an ultra-high property tax bill in Cook County, explore all available options for relief. Consult your local realtor. Or better yet, hire a property manager.
We at Nex-Gen Real Estate can help you by conducting a thorough review of your property's assessed value and identifying any potential errors or missed exemptions that could lower your tax burden.
And if you feel like your property is no longer profitable due to high taxes, we can help market your property effectively, attract potential buyers, and negotiate the best possible sale price, making the transition as smooth and financially beneficial as possible.
Book a free consultation with us below.
