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Top 10 tips that help homeowners better understand their property taxes By Maria Pappas Homeowners have taught me a few things about property taxes while I have served as Cook County Treasurer. One lesson is that the property tax system is complicated. Many people unfamiliar with the process have told me that they wished there…
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Pappas: How a few voters control the fate of more than $1 billion in new spending Statement from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas This election season, voters throughout Cook County will decide whether to repair aging schools, improve a lake front beach, shut down a fire department and give local politicians new powers to tax….
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Word of mouth helps homeowner get $6,805 refund for missed exemptions By Maria Pappas Word of mouth helped chef Gabriel Miranda of Hickory Hills obtain a $6,805 refund for missed homeowner exemptions. Miranda said he and his wife deposited the money into their savings account. Their monthly bills include private high school tuition for the…
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Pay your property tax bill online to avoid risk of check-washing fraud By Maria Pappas As the March 1 due date approaches for Cook County property owners to pay their First Installment 2023 tax bills, I encourage people to pay online. It’s more convenient — and much safer. People who still pay their bills by…
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Illinois program lets senior citizens defer up to $7,500 per year in property taxes Your Property Taxes column with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas By Maria Pappas Illinois offers senior citizens a property tax relief program that works like a loan. The Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral program allows qualifying seniors to defer up…
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Slashed interest rate on late property tax payments could prevent home loss By Maria Pappas As my office prepares for the Annual Tax Sale, we’re doing all we can to help people avoid losing their homes because of unpaid property taxes. One of the biggest legislative reforms to the Illinois property tax system in decades…
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New tool shows where property tax dollars go and informs fed up taxpayers By Maria Pappas When I saw how recent property tax bills shocked and angered many Cook County homeowners I knew people needed to understand why their taxes are so high. I began hearing from frustrated homeowners before tax bills landed in early…
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Treasurer Maria Pappas unveils online tool detailing property tax spending as Dec. 1 tax due date looms Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas today unveiled an innovative online tool that for the first time calculates year-to-year changes for each property tax bill and shows where tax dollars go. The search tool at cookcountytreasurer.com is available as…
Pappas: School districts hiked property taxes on Cook County homes, businesses An analysis of Cook County’s 1.8 million property tax bills for 2022 shows that school districts are chiefly responsible for hefty tax bills that are due Dec. 1, according to Treasurer Maria Pappas. The median residential tax bill in the north and northwest…
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Pappas: Property tax bills will soon be due. Are you getting all your exemptions? Your Property Taxes with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas By Maria Pappas If you own a home or other real estate in Cook County, chances are you will have a property tax bill due soon. Property taxes in Illinois are billed…
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Pappas’ office helps Chicago couple get $2,447 property tax refund Your Property Taxes with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas By Maria Pappas Many Cook County homeowners are losing thousands of dollars in savings because they are not taking advantage of property tax breaks. My office recently helped an older couple on Chicago’s North Side receive…
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Maria Pappas applauds passage of historic property tax reform law cutting the interest on late taxes Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed into law historic reforms to fix long-standing racial inequities and abuses in the state’s property tax system spotlighted in two studies issued last year by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. Pappas’ property…
Taxpayers have an extra month to pay First Installment of Tax Bills In Cook County, first installment property tax bills are ordinarily mailed around February 1 and are due on March 1. This year, however, the first installment bills will not be mailed until late February or early March and will have an April 3…
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Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas refunding more than $47 million to homeowners More than 53,000 property owners who overpaid their First Installment taxes last year will automatically get back more than $47 million in refunds starting this week. “If you have a refund coming, we’ll find you and return your money,” Pappas said. “By putting…
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First Installment Cook County property taxes due date pushed to April 3 Cook County property owners will have an extra month to pay their First Installment property taxes this year, and their bills are already available online. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB 5189 into law last month making Monday, April 3, 2023, the new due…
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Maria Pappas: Your Cook County property tax bill is online now Cook County’s Second Installment property tax bills have been posted at cookcountytreasurer.com, where bills can be viewed, downloaded and paid with no added surcharge. “My office has finally received the figures to print 1.8 million property tax bills,” said Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas….
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Study shows tax investors exploit property tax laws targeting Black, Latino communities New Pappas study: Tax investors exploit Illinois property tax law they shaped to reap millions in profits from Black and Latino communities. Homeowners and governments losing out on important funding A new study from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office reveals that hedge funds,…
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas opens satellite office at St. Sabina Church Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas opens satellite office at Saint Sabina Church to help preserve homeownership. Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas has opened a satellite office at Saint Sabina Church as part of her Black Houses Matter homeownership preservation program. Partnering with Father…
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