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Cook County Opens $15 Million Homeowner Relief Fund With Oct. 10 Deadline

The program offers $1,000 lottery-based payments to income-eligible owners who saw 50% tax jumps, serving as a stopgap during ongoing billing delays.

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 Oct. 10, with an initial screening, a document verification phase, and a lottery to award $1,000 payments.
  • Eligibility requires a 50% or greater increase in 2021–2023, household income at or below the county median, an active homeowner exemption, and residency in the home in the year of the increase and the prior year.
  • County materials indicate the $15 million fund is expected to reach about 14,000 households, while roughly 95,000 experienced 50%+ spikes and nearly 250,000 saw 25%+ increases.
  • Impacts have been concentrated in the south suburbs, including more than $42 million in additional taxes in Thornton Township and a 213% median spike in Bremen Township.
  • Tax-bill mailing is still delayed by a Tyler Technologies software upgrade; President Toni Preckwinkle criticized recent data transfers, Tyler agreed to daily coordination, and a $300 million loan program for taxing bodies closes Oct. 3.