Legislative reforms to Cook County’s property tax system almost uniformly stalled this legislative session, halting efforts to give tax breaks to more seniors and those walloped with big bills, and to help people hang on to some of their homes’ value if they lose the properties because of unpaid taxes.
When tax bills will ultimately hit mailboxes, meanwhile, is still in flux, as tech upgrades continue at the county’s property tax offices. Those bills will have fresh numbers that reflect Chicago’s latest reassessment.
With most countywide officeholders facing reelection next year, many are looking to address long-standing complaints about rising property tax bills so they can tell voters they’re working on it.
Assessor Fritz Kaegi estimates about 237,000 people in Cook County saw their bills go up by at least 25% during the last property tax cycle, sparking concerns about homeowners’ ability to keep up with their bills and, ultimately, stay in their homes.
County officials said this spring’s budget and transit debates overshadowed property tax ones and hope to make more progress in Springfield later this year.
An overhaul of the county’s tax sale process spearheaded by Treasurer Maria Pappas was among the more prominent reforms to sputter out. Pappas’ legislation would have changed the way the county handles delinquent taxes to ensure those who don’t catch up on their property tax bills can still pocket some of their home’s value if it’s turned over to a private investor.
The reforms would have swapped out the county’s current way of dealing with the sale of past-due taxes. Private investors — known as tax buyers — can currently win a deed to a home outright if a homeowner doesn’t pay up in a certain amount of time.
In 2023, the Supreme Court found the government of Hennepin County, Minnesota, was unfairly pocketing proceeds from homes and businesses sold after years of property tax delinquency. The ruling spurred several states with similar foreclosure processes to change their systems and protect themselves from future lawsuits, making Illinois an outlier and various county governments vulnerable to lawsuits.
To comply with the federal ruling, Pappas’ office proposed hosting an auction that would allow the original homeowner to get paid the difference between the sale price and their late tax balance.
But disagreements between reformers and tax buyers — who would have had to pay higher fees and lose out on equity under the new process — made negotiations complex. Housing advocates are seeking more sweeping reforms to help homeowners catch up on taxes and stay in their homes.
As a stopgap, legislators approved a bill putting off the August tax sale until next March. During that extension, people behind on their property tax bills won’t be charged monthly interest costs, Pappas said.
“The delay gives me the time to collaborate with housing advocates and other partners on comprehensive property tax foreclosure reform legislation,” Pappas said, suggesting a bolder package might be introduced during a special or veto session. “The time for stopgap reform measures has passed. Now is the time for significant and enduring reform.”
A separate proposal to allow County Clerk Monica Gordon to set up payment plans for homeowners trying to pay off their delinquent taxes also failed to clear both chambers.
It was part of a package supported by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle that also broadened the “senior freeze” exemption so that more homeowners could qualify.
Taxpayers over 65 with a total household income under $65,000 can have their home’s equalized assessed value “frozen,” helping stave off big bills triggered by major assessment hikes. But seniors — including those on a fixed income — can get bumped off the program when Social Security benefits increase. The freeze threshold has been the same since 2017. The initial proposal would have raised the income cutoff up to $85,000, but later amendments brought that figure down to $70,000. It ultimately didn’t get full approval.
“We believe meaningful progress was made,” Preckwinkle spokesman Nick Mathiowdis said in a statement. “These efforts have laid a strong foundation for future reform, and we look forward to continuing to work with legislators and stakeholders to revisit both proposals during a veto or special session later this year.”
Another effort, Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s proposal to create a “circuit breaker” granting tax credits to low-income homeowners who experienced big property tax spikes, did not make it past the assignments committee. Given the state’s tight budget, Kaegi already faced an uphill battle to figure out how to pay for it.
A Kaegi-supported affordable housing incentive bill, however, did pass. The approved bill ensures the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program, which cuts the assessed value of multifamily properties with a significant share of affordable units, will continue through 2034. Scattered-site properties that are part of a larger development will now be able to qualify too. The break is intended to be large enough so that landlords can afford to keep rents low.
When this summer’s property tax hammer comes down is still unclear, as the county clerk and treasurer’s offices are still working through final tech upgrades with Tyler Technologies, the county’s troubled contractor.
The head of Preckwinkle’s Bureau of Technology, Tom Lynch, said in April that he hoped the program would be fully operational by late May so that the offices could use the new system to generate this summer’s tax bills.
Earlier problems submitting key assessment data to the state have since been resolved, but county officials still expect bills to be a month late. Both the clerk and treasurer are still testing and validating new Tyler processes, officials said recently.
“As with any large-scale technology project, system issues arise that need to be resolved through collaboration among the vendor and the using agencies,” clerk spokeswoman Sally Daly told the Tribune. “The vendor and representatives from the county’s property tax offices are meeting daily to discuss all pending issues and county agencies have been working diligently to test the system in order to identify and resolve issues.”
