Gary H. Smith is a Chicago lawyer, and for the past 30 years he has been appealing Cook County property assessments — perhaps the most fundamental figure in a complex calculation that creates two tax bills a year for each of the county’s 1.8 million parcels of land.

Hundreds of confused Cook County and Chicago property taxpayers have been breathing a sigh of relief in the past few weeks, thanks to a procedural change in the Cook County Assessor’s Office. This change followed my meeting with the office of Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios

Taxes are on the rise for many Cook County property owners. For relief, make sure your getting the right exemptions and consider appealing your assessment. Gary H. Smith explains how.

Thousands of homeowners recently got a scary notice from the Cook County Assessor, threatening to put a lien on the property. You may or may not be able to ignore it, depending on whether you have more than one Homestead Exemption in your name.

By Gary H. SmithChicago and Cook County Property Tax Appeal Attorney Your property tax bill in Chicago and Cook County is based on the assessed value of your property. That value, in turn, is based on a large number of […]

By Gary H. SmithChicago and Cook County Property Tax Appeal Attorney If you own property in the city of Chicago, you may get a surprise this year (2015). It might be a good surprise or it might not. The Cook […]