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3h ago

Cook County Opens $15 Million Fund for Homeowners Hit by Property Tax Spikes

County leaders cast the $1,000 lottery payments as a stopgap pending broader property tax reforms.

Residential properties throughout Chicago's South and West sides, like these on West End Avenue in West Garfield Park, had their property assessments double or even triple last year. The Cook County Homeowner Relief Fund, established to help homeowners hit hard by property tax hikes, will pay $1,000 to eligible homeowners who saw a property tax increase of 50% or more in 2021, 2022 or 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
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Overview

  • Applications are open through October 10 at hrf.cookcountyil.gov, with initial screening and document verification before eligible applicants enter a lottery for $1,000 grants.
  • Homeowners must have seen a 50% tax increase in 2021, 2022, or 2023, be at or below the county median income, hold an active homeowner exemption, and have lived in the home during the year of the increase and the year prior.
  • The $15 million program is modest compared with the need, as the assessor estimates about 95,000 homeowners saw 50% hikes and nearly a quarter-million had increases of 25% or more, with many in south suburban communities.
  • Tax bill mailings remain delayed due to a Tyler Technologies software upgrade, prompting a letter from Board President Toni Preckwinkle citing an incomplete data transfer and a response from Tyler agreeing to daily coordination.
  • To ease cash-flow strains from the delays, the county reopened a $300 million loan fund for smaller taxing bodies, with applications due October 3 and repayment occurring automatically when tax revenues are received.