Monthly Archives: December 2016

Cook County Board of Review Annual Report
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2015

The Cook County Board of Review annual report for 2015 is out and contains some interesting statistics:

  • 61.6% of Board of Review property tax appeals were successful: see graphic below and compare with our 90% success rate
  • 319,500 appeals were filed
  • 86% were filed online (how many of these are leaving money on the table?)
  • 2014 tax year marks the fourth time since tax year 1977 that the second installment tax bills have been mailed out on time
  • There are 1.8 million property parcels in Cook County and 5.2 million residents

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Cook County Board of Review Announces Group 7 Appeal Window Has Opened

The Cook County Board of Review has announced that 5 more townships opened for 2016 property tax appeals. The 30 day appeal window for the townships listed below is December 19th through January 17th.near north

  • Hanover
  • Northfield
  • North Chicago
  • South Chicago
  • West Chicago

Contact Us For A Free Property Tax Appeal Estimate

Why Appeal Your Property Taxes Every Year

Why Appeal Cook County & Chicago Property Taxes Every YearThe conventional wisdom is to appeal your Cook County property taxes once and be done with it.

Even better: some make sure they appeal after the county has re-assessed property taxes every three years based on their triennial schedule (1/3 of all 38 Cook County townships are re-assessed each year).

Even better yet is to appeal every year – or to at least have Kensington run a free, no-obligation property tax appeal estimate to see how much savings may be achieved and if it’s worth the effort. Here’s why this makes sense.
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Clarification on Cook County Board Property Tax Freeze

Cook County Property Tax FreezeIn a recent move described as “historic,” the Cook County Board of Commissioners have approved the “Cook County Taxation Predictability and Long-Term Fiscal Forecasting Amendment.” This has been described as freezing Cook County’s property and sales tax rates until January 1, 2020.

The amendment provides certain impediments to future tax levy increases after January 1, 2020, including that the Cook County Bureau of Finance must provide the Board with a fiscal forecast that analyzes revenues, expenditures and planned debt issuance for three years should the tax change occur.

This sounds good on the surface but is less appealing once you dig into it.
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