Chicago City Wire

Chicago City Wire recently interviewed Illinois GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey for his opinion on the latest property tax issues in Cook County.

In July, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced that the second installment of Cook County property tax bills would be delayed, and there are still multiple steps that need to be completed before the bills can be sent out, the Sun-Times reported. Preckwinkle spokesman Nick Shields said recently that the process should be complete by “the end of 2022." The delay is causing trouble for some homeowners who might be looking to claim an IRS deduction on their 2022 federal tax returns, and it has also hurt some homeowners who have received mortgage bills to add money to escrow accounts for paying tax bills.

“The (banks) are having to use estimates because they don’t have an actual bill, and the banks have been used to getting that bill in July for the last 10 years or so,” Oak Park Township Assessor Ali ElSaffar said, Sun-Times reported. “So we’re getting calls from folks who are dealing with that, and we’re getting calls from folks who are just wondering where their tax bills are.”

The Cook County Assessor’s Office is blaming the delay on a new data system, according to Ryan. This new system apparently delayed the transmission of the final 2021 real estate value assessment data from the Assessor's Office to the Cook County Board of Review by several months. Typically, the second-installment property tax bills are sent out in June and due by Aug. 1.

"People know what's going on. They're very frustrated about being forced to deal with this election year ploy," Bailey said in regards to the delays. "You would think that people would be happy about the delay, but people see it for what it is. They know that when they finally do get their property tax bill they will see an increase in the rates and Gov. Pritzker knows this. I've been talking for the last four years about the governor's inability to rein in spending and this is another example of that." 

Bailey described the impact the delay has had on his constituents. 

"People are tired and frustrating and probably one of the most annoying aspects of all this is how normal all the dysfunction has become," Bailey said. "People need real leadership and someone standing up for them, and I think I've brought that to the table."

When asked to characterize Toni Preckwinkle's leadership as County Board President, Bailey said, "It's been an absolute failure, plagued by no transparency or accountability. The people of Chicago are going to have to realize that their city is being devastated by their so-called leadership and the horrible job they all are doing. They need to vote these people out and sending them packing."

Cook County has been able to meet the Aug. 1 deadline every year since 2011, with the exception of a two-month delay last year, which was blamed on COVID, according to the Sun-Times. Some officials, including Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr., are blaming first-term Assessor Fritz Kaegi for implementing the new data system. 

"This is squarely in Fritz Kaegi’s lap. This is purely an implementation failure," Rogers said, according to Sun-Times. "He is the reason tax bills will go out late. He has failed to get his work done timely. He needs to own it."

A spokesperson for Kaegi stated, "These are unavoidable delays. The county was very aware of it."