What can homeowners expect for the 2019 property tax season? With the change of the guard at the Cook County assessor’s office, hopefully some sanity and a break from the ever-climbing rates of the past few years.
As a reminder, property taxes are paid one years in arrears. So, right now we’re paying the 2018 property taxes, and we’re also receiving our assessments for 2019 property taxes, which will be due in 2020.
Probably the biggest change homeowners are likely to notice is that 2019 is the first year with a new Cook County Assessor: Fritz Kaegi, who replaced Joseph Berrios in the November 2018 elections. Many people were discontented with Berrios, and the idea is that some overhaul of the assessment process will have to happen. One of the first things Kaegi did was to replace all but one of the top executives working for the assessor’s office. Several new positions will work on data integrity to ensure a more fair assessment process.
Kaegi also implemented a few new policies that restrict campaign contributions and other lobbying attempts that could attempt to influence assessments. The first assessments for 2019 have already been mailed outs, and hopefully Chicago homeowners will get a break. Certainly, it’s hard to see how property taxes could go up any higher than they already have. Chicago is already known as having one of the highest property taxes in the nation.
