Under the leadership of the new assessor, Fritz Kaegi, the Cook County Assessor’s Office has begun reassessing all real property in the North suburbs of Chicago as part of its 2019 triennial reassessment. Significant increases to property assessments may cause payable 2020 tax bills to skyrocket 50% or more from the prior year. To minimize their tax burden, it’s imperative that property owners review their assessments during this first triennial year.
 
Assessment appeals can be filed with the Cook County Assessor’s Office seeking to reduce a property’s assessment; however, by the time a property’s tax bill is received, it’s too late. Rather, taxpayers must monitor a rolling appeal deadline schedule which varies from township-to-township and year-to-year. Because property taxes in Illinois are paid in arrears, property owners must be diligent and proactive to take advantage of any appeal opportunities. The single most influential component of a property's tax liability is its assessment, which is derived directly from its market value - and nearly all assessment appeals are filed are based on valuation issues, not legal issues.
 
Newmark Knight Frank's Chicago office has a growing practice of MAI designated appraisers supporting our in-house property tax group, so we are uniquely positioned to assist our clients. Due to our jurisdictional knowledge of Cook County and valuation expertise, we are able to secure significant property tax savings for our clients. Furthermore, our proactive approach generates results for our clients earlier in the appeal process so lengthy multi-year lawsuits are rare and net tax savings are maximized.
 
We will provide further updates as warranted. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us if we can help in the review of your properties for any tax appeal opportunities or if we can assist your clients in any way.

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