Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Financial planning tool offers free online help to budget late tax payments By Maria Pappas Property owners unable to pay their tax bills in full by the Dec. 15 due date should look at our free online financial planning tool that helps you make smaller, more manageable payments over time. It’s called the Payment Plan…
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Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas column explores options to help pay property taxes by Dec. 15 If you can’t pay your taxes by the December 15 due date, there’s a 13-month payment plan available! Register now at CookCountyTreasurer.com. Second-Installment Cook County property taxes are due Dec. 15, for nearly 1.8 million Cook County properties. That…
Homeowners shocked by tax hikes should read bills to find out where their money goes By Maria Pappas Record-high increases in property tax bills have angered many Cook County property owners. My office has released an analysis of the nearly 1.8 million tax bills. It showed that in Chicago the median tax bill jumped 16.7%,…
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Treasurer Pappas welcomes visitors to ‘Christmas Trees from Around the World’ exhibit more countries and cultures represented than the Museum of Science and Industry’s Display For the 22nd year, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is celebrating the ethnic holiday traditions of nearly 100 different nationalities in the free “Christmas Trees from Around the World” exhibit…
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Rickey Hendon urges freeze on property taxes and new regulations to address unjustified hikes Former Senate leader Hendon urges Freeze on Property taxes, and proposes reforms during a press conference held at the Cook County Building on Thursday, November 20, 2025, Watch video of press conference below Rickey Hendon, former Illinois State Senator and former…
Third-party notices tell you if a relative or anyone you know misses a tax payment By Maria Pappas Each year, thousands of property owners in Cook County are late paying their taxes, putting their homes in danger of being included in the annual state-mandated tax sale. That’s a problem we want to help you avoid. …
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Illinois expands property tax breaks for veterans to include World War II vets By Maria Pappas Illinois lawmakers in recent years have enacted significant changes to property tax exemptions benefiting veterans, including a landmark provision for those who served during World War II. These changes underscore our commitment to support veterans in Cook County and…
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Your Mortgage Company May Pay Your Taxes — But You Still Need to Watch By Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer Every year, my office mails more than 1.8 million tax bills to property owners across Cook County. If you have a mortgage, your lender may collect money from you each month and put it in…
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Cook County Treasurer Pappas showcases Polish photographer’s first-ever American exhibit and honors Polish American Heritage Month in Chicago Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and the Alliance of Polish Clubs USA will host a special event honoring Polish American Heritage Month by unveiling the first-ever U.S. showing of the “Different Faces of Solidarity” photography exhibit by…
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas to Celebrate Diwali by Recognizing Indian Community Leaders Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and Indian Consul General Somnath Ghosh will host a Diwali celebration to honor Indian American community leaders, activists, and entrepreneurs for their outstanding contributions to the cultural, civic, and economic life of Cook County. The event will…
The Pappas Portal: Free News You Can Use By Maria Pappas When it comes to property taxes in Cook County, a lot of people feel like they’re staring at a 1,000-piece puzzle—and someone hid the box with the picture on the cover. That’s why I want to tell you about a tool that helps you…
What You’re Missing on Your Property Tax Bill By Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas Twice each year, my office mails out about 1.8 million tax bills to Cook County property owners. Most people glance only at the amount due—but your bill is much more than a dollar figure. It’s a detailed breakdown of how your…
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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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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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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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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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…