Overview

• A report from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas quantifies a $1.9 billion tax burden shift from businesses to homeowners during the 2021–2023 reassessment cycle.
• Businesses secured $3.26 billion in tax reductions through appeals, lowering their tax bills by nearly 20%, while residential bills rose by over 16%.
• Lower-income Black and Latino homeowners faced the steepest increases, with tax bills rising nearly 10% on average, compared to 5% for higher-income households.
• The Cook County Assessor’s Office and Board of Review have begun sharing data to improve initial assessments, but disagreements over methodology persist.
• Proposed 'circuit breaker' legislation in the Illinois Legislature aims to cap homeowner tax liabilities, though no significant progress has been made on the bills.