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How Technology Changed the Cook County Treasurer’s Office
By Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer
When I became Cook County Treasurer in 1998, I walked into an office stuck in the past. Boxes containing $30,000,000 of uncashed checks lined the floor, collecting dust rather than earning interest. Just four working computers and six typewriters served a staff of hundreds.
It was a wake-up call. But I knew I was where I was meant to be. You see, I’ve always believed in shaking things up—so that’s what I set out to do.
My first interest was the “lack of interest” those boxes of checks were earning for the county. I immediately implemented a lockbox system to quickly deposit checks. That nearly tripled interest earnings in my first year.
Next, we replaced paper-only processes with a computerized network to handle collections, refunds, deposits, distributions, and more. Automating made deposits instantaneous so interest could accrue in real-time.
Those innovations helped boost the bottom line even further allowing me to phase out 5 satellite offices and ultimately reduce the payroll from 250 to about 60.
We didn’t stop there. We set up our website cookcountytreasurer.com which now serves as a 24/7 portal to office services. Last year alone, the site was visited more than 6.5 million times and since opening it’s been visited more than 100 million times. It’s where taxpayers can search for unclaimed refunds and check for missing exemptions in over 200 languages, helping ensure equity and inclusion in every neighborhood and town.
In 2002, Cook became one of the first counties in the country to offer online property tax payments. We created a system for direct bank transfers that was secure and easy to use. Today, more than 850,000 taxpayers pay online each year. If you pay from your bank account, it’s free.
In the 2010’s we began to allow payments on smart phones and other mobile devices. Since 2017, there have been more than 12 million website visits from mobile users.
Also, in 2017 we began offering taxpayers the option to download their bills. More than 7 million tax bills have been electronically downloaded since that functionality was introduced.
In 2018 we began offering automatic refunds for overpayments. Since then, we’ve issued 175,000 refunds totaling more than $150 million. And we’re holding more of your money. Currently, $122 million in overpayments and more than 33 million in exemption refunds are available from the Treasurer’s Office. Log on today to see if you’re owed money.
I’ve always believed good government works for the people. That’s why, for more than 25 years, I’ve made it my mission to simplify the tax system, embrace innovation, and give taxpayers user-friendly tools.
We collect over $18 billion in property taxes each year to fund schools, emergency services, and more than 2000 local government units. Those taxes, paid by the owners of nearly 1.8 million Cook County properties, are the fuel that keeps the second largest county in America running. But how we manage that money can —and must—keep evolving.
The future of government is digital, transparent, and accessible. As long as I serve as your Treasurer, I aim to keep leading my office in that direction.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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