By Don DeBat

19-Nov-24 – Tens of thousands of home and small apartment owners in Chicago likely breathed a sigh of relief when Mayor Brandon Johnson dropped his proposal for a $300 million property tax increase.

Mayor Johnson scuttled the massive tax hike proposal on November 14 after the Chicago City Council voted 50-0 against it. The tax increase was just one part of the mayor’s plan to cover the nearly $1 billion deficit in the 2025 city budget.

The hike would have boosted property taxes by 4.8 percent, raising them by an estimated $318 on a typical $350,000 Chicago bungalow.

However, dropping the plan for a giant property tax increase doesn’t mean that our Democratic Socialist mayor won’t be cooking up a litany of revenue boosting ideas to put the bite on taxpayer wallets.

Another cloud hanging over the North Side is the hefty property tax reassessments handed out this year by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, especially in North Chicago Township, where total assessed value skyrocketed a whopping 30 percent.

The proposed real estate tax hike proved wildly unpopular with property owners, aldermen said. They argue that the city council and mayor should find new revenue to avoid layoffs of city employees and cutting services – and major budget cuts may be necessary.

The wild and crazy proposed revenue-cutting options include the following:

• Diverting American Rescue Plan Act (COVID-19) funds to shore up the budget. More than $200 million of ARPA funds remain unspent.

• Diverting Tax Increment Financing (TIF) dollars earmarked for special projects.

• Dropping the city’s planned advance pension payments. However, bond rating agencies have warned against that idea because it could lead to lowering the city’s credit rating.

• Cutting dozens of vacant Chicago Police Department jobs tied to implementing a federal consent decree. However, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul warned that if Mayor Johnson drastically cuts back CPD’s Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, the mayor will be in defiance of a court order and will be held in contempt.

• Hiking an array of fees, including raising taxes on wholesale alcohol.

• A new tax on products derived from hemp and related legal CBD and THC-alternative products, some of which mirror the effects of marijuana. Budget officials estimate this proposal would raise $19.3 million next year and bring in $175.1 million by 2029.

Assessment hikes loom

Regardless of the city’s budget issues, the real elephant in the room for North Side property owners is the tax increase hit inevitably coming in 2025.

On October 15, Assessor Kaegi released the initial assessments of residential and commercial properties in North Chicago Township, which includes the upscale neighborhoods of Lincoln Park and Old Town. The Assessor reassesses one-third of Cook County every year. Chicago was last reassessed in 2021.

Residential assessments are based on recent sale prices of similar properties in the area. In North Chicago Township in 2023, the median sale price for single-family homes was $1,355,000. In 2024, the median market value estimate for the same property class rose to $1,483,000. That’s a 16 percent increase from the 2021 single-family home median of $1,372,000.

In 2023, the median sale price for condominiums in North Chicago Township was $330,000. In 2024, the median market value estimate for the same property class rose to $378,000. That’s a 10 percent increase from the 2021 condo median of $339,000.

Median market values of two-to-six-unit multi-family apartment buildings in North Chicago Township are on the rise. In 2023, the median sale price for a multi-family property was $1,450,000. In 2024, the median market value estimate for the same property class rose to $1,492,000. That’s a 15 percent increase from the 2021 multi-family median of $1,200,000.

The Assessor said the total assessed value of residential and commercial property in North Chicago Township grew 30 percent, which reflects three years of real estate market changes. Here are two reassessment examples that far exceed the 30 percent median increase:

Lincoln Park. The 2024 estimated fair market value on a vintage red brick four-flat rose an incredible 47.4 percent to $1,930,000 from $1,309,450 in 2023. The assessed value jumped to $193,001 from $130,949. After an appeal, the owner paid a 2023 tax bill of $24,379.

Old Town. The 2024 estimated fair market value on a historic brownstone six-flat rose 39 percent to $1,700,000 from $1,223,270 in 2023, according to the Assessor. The assessed value jumped to $170,000 from $122,327. After an appeal, the owner paid a 2023 tax bill of $25,110.

“Every homeowner should review their exemptions outlined on the second installment of their real estate tax bill because they can reduce their bill by hundreds of dollars if they have the proper exemptions applied,” advised Michael Griffin (left), a Chicago real estate tax appeal attorney.

“Homeowners are encouraged to review the bottom left corner of the tax bill to confirm their exemption deductions,” said Assessor Kaegi.

Most homeowners who occupy their residences are eligible for the Homeowner Exemption, which saves an average of about $700. Senior homeowners 65 years of age or older are likely eligible for additional property tax savings with the Senior Exemption.

Seniors and veterans may also be eligible for further exemptions such as the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze, or “Senior Freeze,” and Veterans with Disabilities Exemptions, says Kaegi.

Property owners who think they are over-assessed should appeal now, Griffin advises. The Assessor’s deadline for submitting appeals for North Chicago Township is November 27, 2024.

Visit the Assessor’s website to find comparable properties or start the appeal process. The Assessor is now completing the 2024 appeal process, following the reassessment of the entire city of Chicago. A taxpayer can file with the Cook County Board of Review and later with the Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board. Or call Michael Griffin, an expert tax assessment lawyer.