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$22M in Cook County property tax refunds to be issued automatically

By Fox 32 News
Published  July 23, 2024 8:32am CDT
Cook County
FOX 32 Chicago

More Cook County homeowners facing skyrocketing property taxes speak out

Cook County homeowners are feeling the pinch of significant property tax increases, and Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi explained what part of the problem stems from.

COOK COUNTY, Ill. - More than $22 million in property tax refunds will be sent to more than 10,000 Cook County property owners who overpaid last year.

The refunds will be sent automatically and by mail to 10,099 homeowners who made overpayments on their First Installment taxes last year, according to a statement from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

"For many senior citizens and others, the value of tax breaks known as exemptions is greater than the amount of property taxes they were billed," Pappas said. "Since they already made a First Installment payment in March, they are entitled to refunds that we send automatically as a convenience for taxpayers."

Of those receiving refunds, 5,813 will have funds directly deposited and 4,286 will receive checks in the mail by Aug. 9. You can visit CookCountyTreasurer.com to see if you have an automatic refund coming. Click the purple box labeled "Your Property Tax Overview" and enter your address or your 14-digit Property Index Number.

Most of the refunds will go to homeowners receiving property tax exemptions, which are applied to the Second Installment tax bill and reduce the total taxes due. The exemptions include homeowner, senior citizen, senior freeze and disabled persons.

Second Installment 2023 property tax bills are due on Aug. 1. 

Pappas launched the automatic refund program in 2018, which has issued $143.2 million in refunds to more than 165,114 property owners without using applications.