West Side residents demand relief from ballooning property taxes: 'What are we supposed to do?'

Tonya Reed dropped her Monday night plans in order to hear from the Cook County assessor’s office about why her property tax bill more than doubled this year.

She and her husband paid about $5,100 in property taxes on their Maywood home last year. That figure jumped to about $11,000 on the bill they received last month.

That increase caused their monthly mortgage payment to also jump from around $1,600 to $2,400, she said.

“So, what are we supposed to do? Are we getting an increase in our paychecks?” she asked, noting that she has a 22-year-old son in college. “Do I pull him out of school just so we can keep a roof over our head?”

Dozens of residents frustrated about hikes on their property tax bills this year attended Monday night’s community meeting hosted by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in West Garfield Park.

Residents sat down with members of Kaegi’s office to find tax exemptions for which they are eligible. They also met with the Cook County Board of Review to submit appeals to their tax bill, which Reed, 54, filed during the event.

Predominantly Black neighborhoods on the South and West sides are bearing the brunt of the county’s tax burden shift from the Loop to the city’s neighborhoods, according to a Cook County treasurer’s office report.

Angelina Romero, spokesperson for the assessor’s office, said a major reason for that shift is the Board of Review’s continuous reductions given to large commercial properties, such as retail and data centers.

Property tax bills are also rising quicker in low-income neighborhoods compared with those in more affluent neighborhoods. And property values in the Central Business District have fallen since the pandemic, while home values in low-income neighborhoods have recouped the value they had before the Great Recession.

The increases reflect an overall jump in Cook County’s tax levy and a lessening contribution from businesses in the Loop.

Last week, the Cook County Board of Review reopened 24 previously closed townships for property tax appeals, which can be filed until Friday.

Nearly 1.8 million tax bills were mailed to property owners Nov. 14 after a four-month delay. They are due Monday.

West Garfield Park saw the highest increase in tax bills last year. The median homeowner tax bill increased by nearly $2,000, or 133%, according to the treasurer’s office report.

Dorothy Rosenthal, 65, of West Garfield Park, is skeptical of that number.

Because her basement flooded with 4 feet of water in 2023, and wasn’t drained until 16 hours later, Rosenthal finds it hard to believe the value of properties in her neighborhood increased at all. And her basement hasn’t been fully repaired from the flooding, with mold remaining in some spots and an entire room unable to be used.

“You say that assessment because some [improvements] are going on in the neighborhood, and that’s true, but not at 133%,” Rosenthal said. “I understand things have to be paid, I understand taxes have to be paid, but I do not think at 133%. Not after we suffered flooding that we never really recovered from.”

Her property tax bill increased by about $1,600, causing her monthly mortgage payment to balloon by roughly $500.

“Until they reassess it, then nothing’s going to happen, because for those of us who don’t have any exemptions left, we are still stuck with $1,600 additional, and your sympathy doesn’t pay that,” she said.