Politics
Cook County Assessor Pushes to Ease Property Tax Burden on Homeowners
Some homeowners are searching for answers as they grapple with hefty — and late — property tax bills.
A new report from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office said declining values for downtown commercial properties are shifting the tax burden onto homeowners.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, who is running for reelection, argues the property tax system favors corporations. He has said he’s working to change it.
Kaegi’s office assesses the value of nearly 2 million parcels in Cook County. When property owners think their bill is too high, they can file appeals with the Board of Review, which reviews valuations.
Kaegi joined WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the property tax system and the study.
On property tax increases:
The median home owner’s bill increased by a record-setting 16.7%, the treasurer’s study found.
Some South and West Side residents have seen their tax bill go up significantly. The treasurer’s report said that this year, property taxes for homeowners went up by 133% in West Garfield Park and 99% in North Lawndale. That’s compared to a near 6% increase in more affluent Lincoln Park.
Kaegi said the Board of Review sides more with commercial property owners in its appeals process.
“When we finished our reassessment of Chicago, homeowners would have had actually two percentage points less of the burden than they started with because we saw residential values going up, but we saw commercial values being higher than where they had been in the last reassessment, which was right after the pandemic,” Kaegi said. “But these values were cut at the Board of Review by nearly 20% for commercial properties, whereas only 1% for residential properties. That shifted about half a billion dollars of the burden, according to the treasurer, onto homeowners. That’s about $700 that’s tacked onto the tax bill of every single home in Chicago. In some of the neighborhoods where we’re seeing big increases, this accounts for more than half of the increase.”
The report also found that West Garfield Park and North Lawndale residents saw their property value assessments more than double.
Kaegi said that home value assessments are going up in these neighborhoods because home buying costs are also on the rise. Buyers who are priced out of North Side neighborhoods may opt to look at houses in cheaper areas like North Lawndale, which is seeing more investment.
“When you look at Austin, when you look at Garfield Park, when you look at North Lawndale, people have a lot of pride in their neighborhood, and they have taken care of it,” Kaegi said. “They’re now getting a return on their investment. So the last three years on the South and West Side, there’s been more wealth creation in the growth of values in people’s homes than over the last 20 years. So that’s good news. Of course, it’s hard when people’s bills go up.”
On commercial property taxes:
Kaegi said he’s pushing to more accurately recalculate the value of commercial properties to ease the tax burden on homeowners.
“Everyone needs to be paying their fair share,” Kaegi said. “But when we’re seeing big cuts on commercial properties, on big industrial properties, commercial properties, corporate properties, and it’s pushed onto the homeowner, when past studies have shown that these cuts have been excessive, that is what I find extremely concerning, and that’s what I’m fighting against.”
On reforming the property tax system:
While budgets are stretched in Springfield, Kaegi is pushing for more relief for homeowners hit hardest by tax increases.
“The program that we proposed would be if your bill spiked 25% or more, you would get relief for up to half of the increase in your bill for three years,” Kaegi said. “There would be an income test. Your income would have to be below $100,000 is our proposal.”
Heather Cherone contributed to this report.
