Chicago’s Cook County Didn’t Check Seniors’ Property-Tax Breaks

Recipients of a tax-savings initiative designed to protect low-income seniors from rising property taxes are under pressure to prove they actually qualify for the program, after a newspaper’s investigation uncovered widespread abuse.

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi is demanding proof from dozens of property owners receiving benefits from Illinois’ senior citizen assessment freeze program after the publication’s probe determined that ineligible recipients were benefiting from significant multi-year tax breaks at the cost to other taxpayers, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

A striking case involves Jill Fitzgerald, an 84-year-old widow living in a $7.1 million mansion in Winnetka. Despite the property’s significant valuation, Fitzgerald’s taxes are frozen at a 2015 assessed value of $1.2 million, enabling her to save more than $467,000 over the past 12 years.

Questions about her eligibility arose after it was discovered that she sold two apartment buildings for $2.5 million in 2018 and potentially resides with family members whose combined income may exceed the program’s $65,000 household income limit.

Kaegi’s office has demanded Fitzgerald provide proof of her eligibility or face repayment with penalties and interest.

Fitzgerald’s case is not unique. Lobbyist and former Cook County official Armando Saleh, 54, has also received senior assessment freezes on two Chicago apartment buildings, saving nearly $50,000 over the last decade.

Saleh is 11 years too young to qualify, and the exemptions were applied to two properties simultaneously, a clear violation of program rules. His applications, which claimed household incomes below $65,000, were approved without verification by Kaegi’s office.

These lapses follow a similar investigation in 2021 that led to the recovery of $3.1 million from 671 homeowners who were wrongly granted senior freezes.

“Our Erroneous Exemptions department made an initial determination that the exemptions were incorrectly claimed and sent a notice to the taxpayer informing them that, unless they want to dispute their case, they must pay back the savings accrued through the exemption,” Kaegi’s spokesman Christian Belanger said.

Kaegi’s office has pointed to outdated county systems as a barrier to effective oversight, but critics argue that the lack of robust verification measures enables widespread exploitation. A planned system update is expected to improve data checks, but concerns remain about fairness and accountability within Cook County’s property tax system.

— Andrew Terrell