After two years of record property tax increases in many suburbs, Cook County Council is considering using property tax late payment fees to provide some relief to homeowners.
According to the county treasurer, average property taxes collected by taxpayers in the south suburbs increased by about 20% this year, the largest increase in 29 years. The year before, average property taxes collected by taxpayers in the north and northwest suburbs increased by 15.7%, the largest percentage increase in 30 years.
Today, 13 of the 17 council members are requesting a hearing to create a new property tax abatement program. They want to fund the program with fees the Cook County treasurer collects from people who pay their bills late.
Commissioner Bridget Gainer, the lead sponsor, said the fees are above budget, which could provide a lifeline “to get relief to people right now” amid record spikes. Gainer said she has seen a surge in taxpayers asking for help at community meetings in her district. “I’m not going to talk to hundreds of people and not do anything about it,” she said.
The county has collected about $54 million in late fees through May of this year, more than the $35 million budgeted.
It’s just an idea at this point. And it’s unclear who would qualify, or how much of a rebate they’d get on their bills. Cook County residents owe $611 million in new taxes this year alone, so it’s doubtful many homeowners would qualify for much help.
Despite anger among many Cook County residents over recent tax hikes, elected officials are eager to highlight the steps they have taken to address the situation. Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas called the proposal a “show of force,” given how quickly the Aug. 1 deadline is approaching.
Pappas’s office advanced a series of systemic property tax reforms in Springfield, including a successful attempt to reduce the annual interest rate on late property tax penalties from 18 percent to 9 percent. Her office also sought to change the state’s system for selling unpaid property taxes.
Taxpayers who cannot pay their bills in one lump sum have the option to make partial payments before the due date, but late payments are subject to a monthly interest rate of 0.75%. These late fees are typically deposited into the county’s general fund.
The county doesn’t offer discounts or relief to people who can’t pay their bills, but it does offer several exemptions aimed at reducing the impact of tax increases at the outset. Instead of helping them pay their bills, county officials often ask taxpayers to make sure they don’t miss out on any exemptions they’re eligible for.
The resolution suggests that targeted beneficiaries would be low-income elderly households, who are particularly hard-pressed, or those “who spend more than a sustainable percentage of their annual income on property taxes.”
The county already offers income-based property tax relief for older homeowners. Known as a “senior freeze,” people over age 65 with a total household income of $65,000 or less can apply to have their equalized property value “frozen,” which can stop steep bill increases related to rising property values. Eligible applicants must apply each year.
Assessor Fritz Kaegi, who has received widespread criticism from south suburban taxpayers in recent weeks, has previously expressed support for the county funding a similar “circuit breaker” program that would provide rebates to means-tested homeowners who receive unsustainable bills.
The earliest a hearing could be held would likely be September, Gainer said, after the second installment bills are due.
In other council action, after 40 years in its current brutalist building in the city’s medical district, the county medical examiner is headed to a new office.
Spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny said the medical examiner’s office is working “to acquire a new location to accommodate a larger, modern facility that can meet the current demands and evolving needs of the MOE for decades to come.”
The office operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and investigates approximately 5,600 deaths a year.
For five years, the county has been looking for a suitable building to house the medical examiner. This proposed site “is convenient to public transportation and close to the Illinois Medical District, and will allow MOE to create a state-of-the-art facility,” according to the ordinance authorizing the sale.
Technical design and new construction will not begin until after the purchase, Derevyanny said.
On Thursday, the board also approved $24 million in legal settlements, including a $7.25 million payment to one of four men known as the “Marquette Park Four” who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned as teenagers.
aquig@chicagotribune.com
