Commercial owners hit hardest in latest Cook property tax bills

Nearly 80% of all commercial property owners in Cook County received higher property tax bills this year, while 50% of homeowners saw their taxes increase.

A builder representative said the gap was not fair. However, a spokesman said Cook County’s appraisal office is correcting widespread undervaluation of commercial real estate in the past.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” said Farzin Parang, executive director of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago. “That shows us how the appraiser puts his thumb on the scales and not on market data.”

According to a new report released today by the property tax research division of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ office, property owners in Cook are paying a total of $ 534 million more in property taxes this year than last year, up from 3.4 % is equivalent to.

The report also shows that 50.5% of the county’s residential properties received higher tax bills, while 78.5% of the county’s commercial property owners were billed more this year.

Of the additional property tax revenue generated, $ 410 million came from commercial owners, while $ 114 million came from increases in residential property owners. The remaining $ 10 million comes from other types of real estate.

Scott Smith, a spokesman for Cook County assessor Fritz Kaegi, said some of the increased burden was due to tax authorities receiving either more tax dollars from inflation or voter-approved increases, but acknowledged that the assessor is also re-evaluating many commercial properties . Worth.

“A lot of areas have been undervalued in the past, especially commercial real estate,” said Smith. “We value real estate more precisely than in the past and are approaching the market value, which has largely not happened in the past.”

Pappas said the data is alarming as the overall property tax hike, largely used to fund school districts in Chicago and the suburbs, is outpacing inflation. Your office is responsible for sending property tax invoices and processing payments.

“I hear the complaints from everyone,” she said. “But it’s certainly a tough time raising commercial property owner taxes on everything that’s going on.”

Parang said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many commercial tenants have already reduced or are planning to reduce their rented office space. In addition, many tenants have told building owners that they expect lower occupancy even after the pandemic has ended.

Kaegi’s office made general cuts in property valuations following the outbreak of the pandemic, but an expected decline in residential properties never occurred.

“It was 180 degrees wrong and broke highs all year round,” argued Parang.

Kaegi’s office has revalued properties in the southern and western suburbs ahead of this year’s tax bills. Chicago properties are being revalued this year. In the next year, the properties in the north and northwest of the district will be revalued.

Smith said “COVID-inflated” home sales will impact all home values ​​during revaluations.

“We’ve certainly seen increases in valuations in Chicago and, frankly, very surprising increases in home values,” he said.

The average commercial property tax burden in almost every northwestern suburb of Cook County has risen this year, according to the report by the Pappas office. Only Prospect Heights and Streamwood saw average business taxes fall this year.

This is not the case with suburban homeowners.

Homeowners in Wheeling and Elk Grove Village performed best this year. Only 5.6% of Homeowners in Wheeling were getting higher property tax bills and the average bill there was down $ 100, according to figures from the Pappas report. At Elk Grove Village, only 14% of homeowners saw higher property tax bills, and the average bill was nearly $ 60 lower than last year.

According to Pappas’ report, the average home tax bills in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Buffalo Grove, Elgin, Hanover Park, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Roselle and Streamwood have all declined this year.

The numbers in Pappas’ report refer only to properties in the Cook County portion of these cities. Many suburbs cross the district boundaries.

In Barrington Hills, the average homeowner home tax in Cook County is nearly $ 537 lower than last year, but nearly 77% of homeowners there pay more property taxes than last year.