Property Tax Updates
June 17, 2020
The 2019 Triennial Reassessment of Evanston as a Harbinger of the 2021 Triennial Reassessment of Chicago
In Evanston, commercial properties experienced an average tax increase of 33%. Since Evanston’s relatively diverse stock of property approximates that of Chicago, its actual experience anticipates what to expect in the 2021 Triennial Reassessment of Chicago.
June 17, 2020
Second Installment 2019 Tax Bills are Available
The second installment 2019 tax bills are now available on the Treasurer’s website. https://www.cookcountytreasurer.com/setsearchparameters.aspx You may enter PINs and download the actual tax bills.
Despite August 3, 2020 due date, payments made on or before October 1, 2020, will be considered timely by the Cook County Collector.
May 22, 2020
Penalty date deferred to October 1, 2020
Cook County Board of Commissioners vote to defer the penalty date to October 1, 2020. The second installment 2019 tax bills will state that the due date is August 3, 2020. But payments will be treated as timely if made on or before October 1, 2020.
May 21, 2020
Equalizer/multiplier finalized for 2019
The 2019 (pay 2020) Cook County Equalizer/Multiplier is 2.9106. That is up slightly from the 2018 (pay 2019) value of 2.9109.
While the equalizer alone provides no indication of the likely taxes, it does provide some indication of the accuracy of assessments and the degree of assessment reductions granted by the Board of Review.
April 13, 2020
Takeaways from Zoom meeting with Assessor Kaegi re: 2020 reassessment
Assessor Kaegi recognizes that the current health and economic crises will impact real estate value. However, it was readily apparent that the actual ability of the Assessor and his staff to discover and accurately measure this impact within the strict timeframe of the assessment cycle is extremely limited or, even, nonexistent.
April 9, 2020
Federal appellate court re-affirms jurisdiction over constitutional challenge to Cook County property taxes.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit approves a rare exercise of federal court jurisdiction over a constitutional challenge to Cook County property tax assessments brought by O’Keefe Lyons & Hynes on behalf of several commercial and industrial taxpayers.
A.F. Moore & Assoc., Inc. v. Pappas, 948 F.3d 889 (7th Cir. 2020)
April 8, 2020
Context for Assessor Kaegi’s proposal to send assessment notices to all properties in Cook County reflecting the impact of Coronavirus on market value.
To understand Assessor Kaegi’s proposal it is helpful to understand how triennial reassessment operates ordinarily.
April 6, 2020
Assessor Kaegi announces reassessment of all properties to reflect Coronavirus impact on market value.
On April 3, 2020, Cook County Assessor announced that he intends to send 2020 assessment notices (affecting taxes payable in 2021) to all properties in Cook County reflecting the impact of Coronavirus on market value.
March 31, 2020
O’Keefe Lyons & Hynes to document impact of Coronavirus on market value.
In the coming months, OLH will be gathering evidence of the impact of the coronavirus on the market value of commercial real estate. We will use this evidence, where appropriate, in 2020 Assessed Valuation Complaints.