Chicago homeowners facing largest property tax jump in at least 30 years, minority communities hit hardest: Cook County study
A computer upgrade caused delays for some property tax bills. Now, the I-Team is looking at a new study that shows Chicago homeowners are facing the largest property tax jump in at least three decades.
That study also found that communities of color are being hit the hardest.
People may be having sticker shock : The Cook County Treasurer's Office has been analyzing the new tax bills, and says that, citywide, the median residential bill jumped more than 16%.
The treasurer's office says city spending increased, and there are fewer commercial spaces to pay their share of the pie.
Treasurer Maria Pappas says there has been a sharp drop in the value of downtown commercial buildings, paying about $129 million less this cycle because of higher vacancy rates over the years.
"It went down in a landslide, and it is coming back like a snail, slowly, very slowly and not fast enough to handle the residents who carry the burden," Pappas said. "Because many went unrented. Many are unrented. The taxes went down. What happened was the residences ended up picking up the bulk of these tax increases."
Black and brown communities on the South and West sides are the hardest hit. In West Garfield Park, bills soared 133%. North Lawndale saw a 99% spike. And in Englewood, taxes climbed more than 80%.
The treasurer says many of those homes may have been undervalued before the most recent assessment, done every three years.
If you haven't gotten your bill, you can see it now or pay online. Taxes are due Dec. 15. But if you can't pay right away, you can set up a payment plan with interest. More information on that is at www.cookcountytreasurer.com.
