Original News, Features & Opinion on local and regional news you won't find anywhere else
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…
Senior freeze exemptions help prevent huge spikes in property tax bills By Maria Pappas Many senior citizens on fixed incomes face the challenge of managing their property taxes. They may be eligible for a tax break known as the “Senior Freeze” Exemption. My website, cookcountytreasurer.com, explains the eligibility requirements and can walk you through the…
Read More “Senior freeze exemptions help prevent huge spikes in property tax bills” »
Cook County Treasurer analysis shows dramatic tax increases in Latino wards Cook County property tax analysis: Latino wards see dramatic increases; new state law, reassessments and controversial TIF funds result in higher taxes for most property owners As property tax bills land in Cook County mailboxes over the coming days, businesses and homeowners will likely…
Read More “Cook County Treasurer analysis shows dramatic tax increases in Latino wards” »
Now that elections are over, voters get hit by a costly truth By Ray Hanania If you listened to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s campaign rhetoric, you would think that Illinois was well on its way to economic recovery. Pritzker threw a few hundred dollars at us in state tax money, spent hundreds of millions on himself…
Read More “Now that elections are over, voters get hit by a costly truth” »
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….
Read More “Maria Pappas: Your Cook County property tax bill is online now” »
Orland Fire District will maintain “all services” despite delayed county tax collections The Orland Fire Protection District on Tuesday said there will be no reduction in emergency fire response services as a result of the inability of Cook County to collect taxes during which fund government unit services like the fire district, Fire Chief Michael…
Pappas study shows Cook County Property taxes doubled in past two decades Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas discusses how property taxes have doubled over the past 20 years in Cook County with the largest increases in Suburban Chicagoland, increasing more than 116 percent during the past two decades. Pappas discusses the study her office completed…
Read More “Pappas study shows Cook County Property taxes doubled in past two decades” »
Pappas: See Your New Property Tax Bill at CookCountyTreasurer.com Second Installment Cook County property tax bills have been posted to cookcountytreasurer.com, where property owners can see how much they owe two weeks before the bills are received in the mail in early July, Treasurer Maria Pappas said today. The Second Installment is due August 3,…
Read More “Pappas: See Your New Property Tax Bill at cookcountytreasurer.com” »
Teamsters Local 727 Supports Mayor Lightfoot’s Congestion Tax on Uber, Lyft Rides Teamsters Local 727 Secretary-Treasurer John Coli, Jr. today announced the union’s support of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to apply a new congestion tax to ride-hailing companies, including Uber and Lyft. According to a recent press release from the Mayor’s Office, Mayor Lightfoot’s plan seeks to…
Illinois financial problems are a national joke Illinois is ranked as the 49th Worst State in the country when it comes to taxation, according to WalletHub.com. So the last thing someone should do to address the state’s collapsing economy is to increase taxes. The driving force behind Illinois’ financial troubles are the politically driven pensions…
Read More “Illinois financial problems are a national joke” »
Suburbs must standup to Chicago’s Tax Grab Forcing suburbanites to help cover the budgetneeds of Chicago has always been a problem with Chicagoland politics. It needs to stop. It’s not that I don’t like Chicago. I Love Chicago. I was born there. But like most people born there, I fled to crime, the taxes and…
What Chicago mayor candidates are really saying about themselves Comparing the campaign TV ads of the various mayoral candidates says a lot about who they really are and what their priorities are, or are not. The candidates for Chicago mayor define themselves in their TV campaign ads. Here’s what it looks like. Published in the…
Read More “What Chicago mayor candidates are really saying about themselves” »
In Chicago mayoral election, other issues are important, too With all the usual issues being skirted and glossed over in the Chicago Mayoral election, voters should take notice of the undercurrent of issues on the sidelines that have as much impact on their lives as the rest. Conspiracies are a part of Chicago politics, so…
Read More “In Chicago mayoral election, other issues are important, too” »
Let “Sub-Urban” voters vote for Chicago mayor Or, how the Suburbs got their name. Suburban residents should have the right to vote to select Chicago’s next mayor since Chicago survives not only on the taxes it collects from its residents but from nearly 30 percent of the taxes collected from residents who live in the…
Madigan, House Democrats urge Fair Tax to ease Burden on Middle Class Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, House Democrats and advocates for the middle class are calling out Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republicans for refusing to consider fair tax reform that would provide relief for the middle class while making the ultra-wealthy pay their fair…
Read More “Madigan, House Democrats urge Fair Tax to ease Burden on Middle Class” »