As we advised our clients in our May Newsletter, we had proposed that Cook County allow financially stressed taxpayers a penalty-free extension to pay their second installment tax bills in response to the COVID-19 crisis. We are very pleased to […]

As the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to reverberate throughout our society, The Law Offices of Gary H. Smith, P.C. remains fully committed to working on your property tax matters. We want to make sure that you know we are […]

Assistance in your tax planning calculations You probably have read some of the numerous media reports regarding the drastic increases in assessed values for both residential and commercial/industrial properties in Northern Cook County.  Assessor Fritz Kaegi is seemingly unconcerned about […]

Thousands of Cook County residents are owed property tax refunds, and all property owners need to do is visit the Cook County Treasurer’s website to check their property’s listing. How to Claim a Tax Refund for Overpayment There is an […]

Predatory lending practices by mortgage giant Bank of America could be partially to blame for the foreclosure crisis that caused property tax bills to spike in Cook County. How the Foreclosure Prevented Property Tax Collections In the wake of the […]

The dollars collected from property taxes are used to fund a number of state and local services, including education, transportation, emergency, parks, and libraries. How those dollars are calculated involves a variety of entities and a lot of math. How […]

Cook County first installment property tax bills which are due on March 3, 2020, are now available online. This year’s first installment bill was calculated at 55% of last year’s total bill. To find the property’s tax bill on the […]

In a case in front of the Illinois Supreme Court, groups are challenging the state’s law that provides property tax exemptions to area not-for-profit hospitals in return for them providing free or discounted services to poor and underinsured people. However, […]

When Cook County property owners receive their tax bill each year, it’s hard to remember those dollars are used to fund various municipal offices, administrative costs and various government entities, which includes public schools, libraries, and often park district systems. […]

Cook County property owners, who have already been dealing with lower average home prices and property tax bill increases since 2007, might be asked to pay even more in the coming year. Cook County’s chief financial officer and the Cook […]