Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed into law historic reforms to fix long-standing racial inequities and abuses in the state’s property tax system spotlighted in two studies issued last year by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. Pappas’ property tax equity legislation will help Cook County property owners who fall behind on their taxes by slashing in half interest rates on late payments — from 18 percent to 9 percent per year. The reduction will save homeowners and businesses $25 million to $35 million a year, with most savings realized in Black and Latino communities. The reforms, the state’s most significant changes to its property tax code in decades, also were backed by the Chicago Community Trust, one of the nation’s oldest and largest community foundations. In addition to cutting the interest rate, the new law:

• Permits counties to use new tools to put chronically tax delinquent properties into the hands of municipalities, local developers and nonprofit organizations so the properties may be more quickly rehabilitated.

• Closes loopholes that have allowed tax buyers — mostly hedge funds, private equity firms and lawyers — to drain $40 million each year from governments serving mostly Black and Latino residents.