Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Don’t Pay for What You Can Get for Free: How to Claim Your Property Tax Refunds By Maria Pappas Every year, many Cook County homeowners are bombarded with letters, emails and phone calls from vendors offering to help secure property tax refunds — for a fee. But here’s the truth: You don’t need to pay…
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John Harrell formally announces candidacy to succeed La Shawn Ford at West Side rally Community, religious, and elected leaders endorse Harrell for the 8th State House District at a press conference held at Macarthur Restaurant, 5412 W. Madison Street, Chicago, Monday, April 11, 2025 Chicago, IL – John Harrel formally announced his candidacy for the…
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We Can Help You Understand Your Property Taxes—In Nearly Any Language By Maria Pappas Understanding Cook County’s property tax system can be a challenge even for people born and raised here. Words like “assessments,” “exemptions,” and “multipliers” aren’t part of everyday conversation. For many homeowners, deciphering a tax bill feels like solving a puzzle. Now…
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How My Office Handles Billions — And Protects Every Penny By Maria Pappas Cook County Treasurer Two times a year, my office mails nearly 1.8 million property tax bills and collects over $18 billion. That’s not a typo — $18 billion. As Cook County Treasurer, I oversee the second-largest property tax collection and distribution system…
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Everything you need to know about your Property Index Number or PIN By Maria Pappas If you own property in Cook County, there’s one number you should always know: your PIN. That’s short for Property Index Number—a 14-digit code assigned to every piece of real estate in the county. It’s tied to the legal description…
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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…
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Understanding Cook County Property Taxes: A Guide for Homeowners Your Property Taxes with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas By Maria Pappas Navigating the complexities of the property tax system in Cook County can be daunting for homeowners. My hope is this column makes it less intimidating by breaking down a complex process into simple concepts….
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Cook County’s Annual Tax Sale to be Postponed for Seven Months Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas plans to postpone the Annual Tax Sale for seven months, during which time she hopes to work with legislators on comprehensive property tax foreclosure reform measures. At Pappas’s urging, the Illinois General Assembly last week passed legislation that allows…
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Your Property Taxes with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas The levy: It’s not a dam, but it is a word you should know! By Maria Pappas Since I first stepped into my office 27 years ago, one question has repeatedly come up: “Why do my property taxes always go up?” It’s a valid concern. At…
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The $2 Billion Wealth Transfer: How Cook County’s Property Tax Appeals System Rewards Businesses at the Expense of Homeowners By Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas After analyzing over 2 million Cook County property tax appeals filed between 2021 and 2023, researchers in my office uncovered a troubling trend: the system shifted nearly $2 billion in…
The $2 billion wealth transfer: How Cook County’s property tax appeals system rewards businesses at the expense of homeowners Nearly $2 billion in property taxes shifted onto homeowners from businesses over just three years, with a disproportionate share of the added burden falling on lower-income Black and Latino homeowners, a first-of-its-kind analysis by the Treasurer’s…
When it comes to voting on property tax referendums, the few decide for the many There are two types of referendums — binding and advisory. The government is legally required to act on binding referendum results. Advisory referendums aren’t legally binding and are often used to measure public opinion before making a governmental decision. That…
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You May Be Owed Money For Overpaying Property Taxes Up To 20 Years Ago By Maria Pappas My office is managing about $122 million in potential refunds for property tax overpayments going back 20 years that I’m eager to send back to property owners. But determining who’s entitled to a refund isn’t simple. Most overpayments…
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Why We Pay Property Taxes In Arrears? Column: Your Property Taxes with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas By Maria Pappas One of the most common questions I get in my office, is, “Why do we collect taxes for the previous year?” Here’s the backstory. Cook County’s property tax system has changed dramatically since The Treasurer’s…
Illinois officials offer best wishes to Muslim community at end of Ramadan By Ray Hanania Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, and several officials including from Cook County, the State of Illinois and from officials of the Orland Fire Protection District offered their best wishes to the Muslim American community as they prepared…
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Pappas Urges Citizens to Vote on April 1 as Study Reveals Racial and Income Disparities in Referendum Turnout In a first-of-its-kind analysis, the Cook County Treasurer’s Office found much higher property tax referendum turnout in wealthier, predominantly white communities where nearly all people own their homes than in areas with mostly minority populations, lower incomes,…
Change in law lets tax breaks automatically renew for homeowners with disabilities State lawmakers have made it easier for people with disabilities to continue receiving annual property tax relief. By Maria Pappas Cook County homeowners who receive the Persons with Disabilities Exemption no longer must reapply for the benefit every year. Lawmakers acted to allow…
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Property Tax Exemptions: How Homeowners and Seniors Can Save on Taxes By Maria Pappas Property taxes can be a financial burden, but exemptions can help reduce those costs by offering significant savings to property owners. There are three exemptions that do the most good for the most people. They are the Homeowner Exemption, the Senior…
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