'An additional $6,000?': More Cook County residents confront assessor about property tax hike
COOK COUNTY - South suburban residents are expressing frustration and anger over soaring Cook County property taxes.
Adrienne Hatton, who has been a resident of Markham for 17 years and currently finds herself surrounded by abandoned homes, is now struggling to meet her tax obligations.
Hatton was one of 700 people who gathered at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City to question the Cook County tax assessor about the dramatic tax increases. In places like Calumet City, taxes have surged by 72%, and Hatton reports her taxes have tripled.
"How am I supposed to come up with an additional $6,000?" Hatton said.
Many residents at the meeting said they were blindsided by the high second installment tax bills, with a majority of attendees being people of color.
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'My tax bill increased 86%': Cook County homeowners confront assessor about property tax hike
Homeowners in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are reeling from a dramatic increase in property taxes.
Cook County Tax Assessor Fritz Kaegi recently stated that the tax burden on residents in Calumet City and other south suburban communities is partly due to the Cook County Board of Review granting significant tax breaks to large businesses, such as the $370,000 reduction given to the local Home Depot.
However, the Board of Review argues that the Assessor's office made errors in property assessments, contributing to the issue.
Calumet City Mayor and Illinois State Representative Thaddeus Jones of District 29, whose own tax bill increased, is proposing a legislative solution to provide relief. He is crafting a bill that would offer residents a $5,000 credit toward their tax bills.
"One of the Springfield bills that I’ll file this week is going to ask the governor and the assessor to create a special tax designation for the south suburbs," Jones said. "Because we are border communities. We're right on the border of Indiana, and we're right on the border of Will County. So from the stretch of 95th Street south to the Will County line, we want to make sure that we create a special tax designation for homeowners. Homeowners who've been in their homes five years or more, and I think we can start that as a pilot program and then go from there."
Despite the meeting, many attendees left feeling frustrated, without clear solutions on how to address the skyrocketing taxes and manage their financial burdens.