Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Recent Ray Hanania columns you may have missed on Madoff, Kaegi and targeting criminals How is it that members of Congress can far exceed the profit performance of the stock market when it comes to their own investments? Why did Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi artificially increase the assessments of suburban homes, thereby dramatically increasing…
Treasurer Pappas offers ‘snowbirds’ and other Cook County property owners the option to prepay taxes due in 2025 Treasurer Maria Pappas is offering Cook County property owners the option to prepay their 2024 property taxes that will be due in 2025. Pappas’ office will mail taxpayers with an early copy of their First Installment tax…
County Treasurer Pappas can help you understand your property taxes in virtually any language By Maria Pappas The property tax system can confound lifelong Cook County residents. Assessments, appeals, exemptions and other parts of the process can be difficult to understand. Now imagine you immigrated from a place that didn’t have property taxes. Many countries…
Illinois Attorney General slams Orland Park for withholding critical information on unfiled annual audits By Ray Hanania In another major setback for Keith Pekau, the besieged MAYOR of Orland Park in suburban Chicagoland, the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul ordered the village to release the correspondence between the village and its auditors. The issue surfaced…
Jaber urges Village Board to stop undermining the Orland Park Public Library system Mohammed Jaber, Candidate for Orland Park Trustee in the Feb 25 and April 1 elections, steps up to defend the Orland Library from attacks by the Orland Park Village Board and Mayor Pekau. Orland Park, IL — Orland Park Trustee candidate Mohammed…
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Orland School District 135 turns sex abuse case involving 2 female students into victim shaming By Ray Hanania Everyone remembers in January 2015 when an Elementary School District 135 teacher, Cara Labus, was arrested on charges of sexually abusing two young school girls, aged 14, beginning in 2008 in suburban Orland Park. The case was…
Comptroller’s Office comments on Pekau Administration’s “resolution” Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza responds to lies and exaggerations made by beleaguered Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau and his rubber stamp board which has mishandled the village’s finances distinguishing themselves by being among only a few governments that have failed to file two annual financial audits in…
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Taxpayer advocate Mohammed Jaber files for Orland Park Village Trustee in 2025 elections Orland Park, IL — Education leader Mohammed Jaber Friday announced he is running for Orland Park Village Trustee to break the “rubber stamp” that has driven increased village fees and property taxes and to restore the publics participation in local government that…
Candidate for Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge and slate file 4,236 petition signatures for April election ORLAND PARK, IL – Mayoral candidate Jim Dodge and his slate filed 4,236 petition signatures today to nominate their new Orland Park for All Party for the April 1, 2025, municipal elections. This total significantly exceeds the required minimum…
Arab Americans honored by Treasurer Pappas as part of program recognizing all ethnic groups By Ray Hanania Chicago, IL — Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, honored a dozen Arab Americans for their leadership and positive contributions to the community as a part of an overall commitment on her part to…
Treasurer Pappas urges homeowners to pay late taxes and avoid Annual Tax Sale as 23,270 owe less than $1,000 Thousands of Cook County property owners who owe less than $1,000 risk having their tax debt auctioned at an Annual Tax Sale that begins Tuesday, Dec. 10, Treasurer Maria Pappas said today To find out if…
Pay your late taxes now because clock is ticking toward Annual Tax Sale By Maria Pappas If you still owe property taxes that were due in 2023, you’re running out of time to avoid the Annual Tax Sale. State law requires that my office conduct an annual sale of delinquent property taxes. To find out…
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PRESS RELEASE: Town Hall meeting in Orland Park Wednesday to address 3 NEW TIFS and impact on taxpayers, homeowners Town Hall meeting will explain and identify issues with Orland Park’s current Triangle TIF and 3 New TIFs being considered by Village of Orland Park Tom Tresser, a recognized authority on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts…
Third-party notices tell you if a relative or anyone you know misses a tax payment By Maria Pappas My office lets you sign up a relative or anyone you know receive copies of certified notices that are mailed a month before the Annual Tax Sale if your property taxes become delinquent. You can also register…
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Tresser to lead Town Hall on damage Orland Park’s 3 New TIFs will have on taxpayers A Town Hall meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 beginning at 6:30 PM to help homeowners and taxpayers in Orland Park understand the negative impact on local governments and schools that the three NEW TIFs that…
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State Comptroller Susana Mendoza takes tough action against Orland Park over unfiled audits Comptroller Mendoza Suspends Payments to the Village of Orland Park for Failure to File Documents. The move aims to motivate Orland Park’s administration to follow the law without penalizing town residents By Ray Hanania Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza took tough action on…
Orland Park withholds Finance and TIF audits and brings State censure State Comptroller Susana Mendoza slaps the wrist of Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau as TIFs, Taxes, and Audits continue to plague the Southwest suburban village, but is it enough? By Ray Hanania State Comptroller Susana Mendoza suspended the Village of Orland Park from the…
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Collections fall after record south suburban property tax increases, Treasurer Pappas reports More property owners failed to pay their property taxes on time following record increases in south suburban residential tax bills this year, according to an analysis by the Office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. The spike in south suburban tax delinquencies, combined…