As Chicago homeowners receive property tax bills showing the largest increases in decades, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi is calling for reforms to protect homeowners and raising alarms about the unfairness of a property tax system that forces reductions in downtown commercial properties to be shouldered by Black and Latino residents. A report from the Cook County Treasurer shows that while the Assessor’s Office continues to fairly assess homeowners in the neighborhoods of Chicago, large downtown commercial properties are seeing reductions from appeals at the Board of Review. These reductions, combined with a red-hot residential real estate market, are causing unsustainable tax bill increases for homeowners, particularly for Black residents. The Assessor’s Office will continue to advocate for “circuit breaker” legislation at the state level to provide property tax relief to homeowners that have seen unsustainable bill spikes. A recent analysis by the Assessor’s Office found that nearly 250,000 households have seen this kind of spike in recent years. To help homeowners, the Assessor’s Office has:

• Sent out nearly 4,000 postcards to homeowners that we calculated would no longer have a $0 tax bill. These postcards contained information about exemptions, ensuring that they could check whether they had all possible property tax savings.

• Held targeted outreach events in parts of Chicago at risk of tax spikes, helping homeowners appeal their assessments.

• Hosted an “Empowering Latino Homeowners” event for Hispanic Heritage Month on the Southwest Side, in a neighborhood where home prices had increased significantly. We invited local elected officials to join the event and share with their constituents.

• Budgeted for an exemption awareness campaign in those parts of the city where residential tax bills have increased the most.