North Cook News

Mel Thillens, Republican candidate for Senate District 28 - Park Ridge, recently responded to news of Chicago’s large property tax hike with a statement on his Facebook feed, expressing frustration with aspects of the process.

When Chicago homeowners fetched their mail in July to discover that property taxes had increased on average by one-eighth (12.8 percent) — equivalent to approximately $400 per household — Thillens declared not only that politicians are getting rich from property tax appeals, but also that the benefit is inappropriate.

“This should be illegal, and probably would be if these guys weren't making the laws,” he said.

Chicago’s government already collects what amounts to some of the nation’s highest residential property taxes — with Illinois homeowners in general paying a hefty 2.67 percent — and Prairie State denizens are forking over twice the national median, according to a study by the Illinois Policy Institute, a Chicago-based think tank with offices in Springfield.

Although homeowners can easily appeal their taxes, law firms specializing in property tax matters happen to have strong affiliations with those in powerful government positions. For example, Speaker Mike Madigan, Chicago Alderman Ed Burke and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton all have direct ties to such firms. Lawmakers who originally helped to decide on property taxes also, therefore, benefit economically from contested cases.

Approximately 1.8 million Chicago properties are listed on the Cook County Assessor’s website, compared to one million in New York City. While the Cook County Board of Review processed over 400,000 property tax appeals in 2013 and the total number of homeowners who filed appeals in each city was comparable, only 16 percent of New York City appeals resulted in a reduction, compared to 66 percent in Chicago. The fact that two-thirds of Chicago cases were granted appeals may be significant for those who believe the parcels were overvalued to begin with.

Thillens stood behind the Illinois Policy Institute’s findings in his statement claiming there should be greater oversight. The institute added that elected leaders should not be permitted to deal in property tax law commercially.

“To anyone outside Illinois’ political machine, this is a clear conflict of interest that has gone untouched for too long,” according to the Illinois Policy Institute.