Property Tax Collections in Chicago’s Cook County Very Low

Cook County’s property tax collection rate has hit its lowest point since 2012.

The county had only collected 95.1 percent of taxes due for last year by Sept. 1, marking a 1.3 percent decrease from the previous year and leaving $225 million in uncollected revenue, according to a recent analysis from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Crain’s reported.

Delinquent tax accounts surged by 13 percent, with nearly 196,000 property owners failing to pay their full tax bills. The most-delinquent areas were the south and southwest suburbs, where Ford Heights posted a grim collection rate of 31.4 percent, and nearby Robbins and Harvey saw rates of 50 percent and 52.2 percent, respectively.

Delinquencies rose by 27.7 percent in the south suburbs. In Dixmoor, where property taxes increased by 122 percent, the collection rate fell by 8.2 percent.

The treasurer’s office attributes the low collection rates to an unusually short interval between tax bills for 2022 and 2023, and a record 19.9 percent increase in median residential tax bills for south suburban property owners.

Taxpayers in majority Black south suburbs carry a heavier tax burden than those in Chicago. The lingering effects of inflation and a faltering commercial real estate market have added further economic strain.

“Many south suburban residents saw their tax bills jump thousands of dollars this year,” Pappas said. “A lot of homeowners had to choose between paying their property taxes on time or buying medicine, food and gas. Now their homes may be at risk.”

The surge in tax delinquency threatens to undercut essential public services, especially in struggling suburban communities where low collection rates already challenge services like education, police and fire protection.

— Andrew Terrell