Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Your Property Taxes with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas: You May Be Owed Money For Overpaying Property Taxes Up To 20 Years Ago By Maria Pappas My office is managing $105 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…
OIG Finds the City Council Office of Financial Analysis Provided Limited Assistance to City Council in Budget Planning and Decision Making The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed an audit of the City Council Office of Financial Analysis (COFA). OIG’s objective was to determine whether COFA fulfilled its mission of providing…
Your Property Taxes with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas: Thirty Years of Runaway Property Taxes Demand Action By Maria Pappas Since I came into this office in 1998, there’s been one constant, the inexorable rise of property tax bills. To better understand why, my office conducted a 30-year analysis of property tax data. The findings…
Lipinski and Hanania debate, discuss Trump War on Iran, abandoning Ukraine, misunderstanding Birthright and 14th Amendment Two Guys on Politics podcasters Ray Hanania and Bill Lipinski discussed President Trump’s speech on the Iran war, expressing disappointment with its lack of new information and strategic direction. They debated the merits and concerns of the ongoing Iran…
Pappas Study Calls for Halt to Runaway Property Taxes Cook County property taxes have grown at twice the rate of inflation over the past three decades, forcing home and business owners to turn over an ever-greater percentage of their annual earnings to local governments, according to a study released Monday by Treasurer Maria Pappas. During…
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Paying your tax bill online is easy and safe, but you can also pay by mail or in person Column: Your Property Taxes with the Cook County Treasurer In 1789, Ben Franklin wrote that nothing was certain “except death and taxes.” Let’s focus on the taxes part of the great American statesman’s uncomfortable reminder: The…
Statement from John Harrell Candidate for the 8th Illinois House District in the March 17, 2026 Democratic Primary election Voters in the 8th District face many challenges and issues that need to be addressed and that are at stake in this election. One of the most important is curtailing rising property taxes. They need to…
Hastings: new legislation could save homes, protect equity for families facing tax sales SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Michael E. Hastings is supporting legislation designed to provide critical relief to Cook County homeowners at risk of losing their homes in the county’s 2023 tax sale. Hastings, a chief co-sponsor on the bill, worked to pass the…
Important News: TIF expert Tom Tresser on the push to fund new Bears stadium with taxpayer money Important News brings you reporting and commentary that is important to our lives from other writers and news sources. In this post, TIF expert Tom Tresser discusses the downside of the rush to use tax dollars to fund…
Ryan Statement on Budget Preparation for More Affordable Illinois Following Budget Address CHICAGO — Following the budget address delivered by Governor Pritzker on Wednesday, state Rep. Rick Ryan, D-Evergreen, is prepared to begin the long process of securing an affordable budget that will lower the cost of living for Illinois families and improve safety in…
Pappas says pay property tax bills online now at cookcountytreasurer.com Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas will mail nearly 1.8 million Tax Year 2025 First Installment property tax bills by March 2. Payments are due Wednesday, April 1, 2026. But if you want the peace of mind that comes from paying early, you can make payments…
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Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas to Help Hispanic Homeowners Search for Refunds During February 19 Phone Bank with Telemundo Chicago Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is partnering again with Telemundo Chicago’s consumer unit, Telemundo Responde, to host a special phone bank, “Las Casas Latinas Importan,” on Thursday, February 19. The event will help Hispanic homeownersdetermine,…
Preckwinkle and Pappas announce on-time First Installment tax bills, ensuring prompt distributions to taxing agencies Property owners face an important tax deadline in the coming weeks, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Treasurer Maria Pappas are encouraging residents to plan ahead and take advantage of available payment tools. First Installment property tax bills…
Regional leaders endorse John Harrell for 8th Illinois House District Chicago, IL – More than a dozen elected officials and regional leaders have endorsed John Harrell for the 8th Illinois House District representing the West Side of Chicago and West suburban communities. The co-founder of Black Men United and Pastor of both Proviso M.B.C. in…
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Treasurer’s website offers easy way to update property tax bill name and address information Your Property Taxes with The Cook County Treasurer offers insight on services available at the Treasurer’s Office to homeowners You may not look forward to receiving your property tax bill, but it’s crucial that you get it. Not getting it can…
Richard Boykin, Candidate for 7th Congressional District Seat, Calls for National Legislation to Eliminate Unfair Swipe Fee Charges and Protect Consumers Richard Boykin, candidate for Congress in the 7th district, called for national legislation today to eliminate unfair “swipe fees,” which are paid by businesses to banks and payment processors for every consumer debit or credit card transaction….
How a Treasurer’s Office Study Closed a Loophole that Allowed Wealthy Investors to Siphon Hundreds of Millions of Dollars from Low-Income areas For years, wealthy investors exploited loopholes in the property tax system to funnel money from local schools and governments into their collective wallets. But the loopholes were closed after a Cook County Treasurer’s…
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas Endorses Richard Boykin for 7th Congressional District Seat Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is throwing her support behind former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin in his quest to become the next US Congressman in the 7th District. In her video announcement, Pappas points out that Boykin was one of her…