Daywatch: Will property tax bills be late again next year?
Good morning, Chicago.
Property taxpayers in Cook County who were upset that their bills landed roughly four months later than usual have little clarity about the timing of next year’s bills, as county commissioners were told last month that a key technology upgrade meant to speed the bill process along is unlikely to be finished before the end of 2023.
It will be a top issue confronting the new Board of Review commissioners who were sworn in Monday and who could potentially help thaw the icy relations between the three-member board and leadership in the county assessor’s office.
Normally, bills for the second half of the year are sent to property owners in June and July, and due by Aug. 1. This year, thanks at least in part to a tech mismatch between the assessor and Board of Review, bills have only begun landing in mailboxes in recent days. Payment is due by Dec. 30.
For many taxpayers in Chicago, the bills were not only late but also came with sizable increases, as they’re the first to reflect new property assessments that helped drive up the median bill in many neighborhoods, in one case as much as $2,200.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s A.D. Quig.
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