Property owners in Chicago, especially those on fixed incomes, are facing a dramatic increase in property taxes the likes of which the city has not remembered for decades.
For many elderly citizens on the city’s north side, the new tax bills represent an existential blow and open a painful question – sell the home or risk bankruptcy.
Cook County officials only sent out the second installment of tax bills for 2024 on November 14, the payment of which has been moved to December 15. This occurs in a year in which taxes have risen for the 31st consecutive time.
According to data presented by Maria Pappas, as many as 76% of homeowners will pay more than last year, and the largest jumps were recorded in residential neighborhoods.
The median residential property tax in Chicago rose by as much as 16.6% and now stands at $4,457 – the largest increase in the last 30 years. Pappas points out that homeowners in the city will pay a total of $469.4 million more than in 2023, mainly due to the shift of the tax burden from large commercial buildings to residential properties.
Examples from the field are further concerning. One 81-year-old owner of a small building in Old Town experienced a tax increase of 21.5%, to a total of $33,566, with the second part of the bill jumping an incredible 144.9%. If the trend continues, he could pay more than $62,000 in taxes in just seven and a half months. Similar jumps, between 19% and 31.7%, were also recorded in Lincoln Park, Logan Square, and North Lincoln Square.
Along with the tax increase, an additional problem is presented by sharply increased insurance premiums, which in some cases have risen by up to 59%. Experts warn that this pressure will inevitably lead to a rise in rents in 2026, as landlords will no longer have room to absorb the costs.
City aldermen Andre Vasquez and Brendan Reilly point out that reductions in commercial property assessments downtown have directly hit homeowners, while an additional burden came through budget increases for Chicago Public Schools.
Without tax system reform, they warn, the housing crisis in Chicago could deepen further.
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Source: Čikago dešavanja / LOOP NORTH, Photo: Wikipedia