For the past few decades, Lake County has established itself as the premier suburb of Chicago. Boasting some of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Illinois, Lake County has generally been seen as a haven for the wealthy. While many townships follow this model, Waukegan Township does not. Once an industrial center, this area is now home to many middle-class towns and villages, along with many working families. While independent, Chicago does still have an influence on Waukegan Township and the surrounding area. The issue of out-of-control property taxes in Cook County has been making its way north over the previous decades and even far-flung rural areas are feeling the strain. As the area becomes more suburbanized, homes and businesses have seen their assessed values increase. With gentrification rampant, many traditional communities are looking for a way to stand against the tide. Property tax appeals are becoming more important than ever... Read More

Lake County trails only DuPage County when it comes to the collar counties around Chicago. Like many of its collar county brethren, Lake is a combination of suburban areas, rural communities, and post-industrial towns. Fremont Township embodies this varied economic and cultural tapestry well, while having a charm all its own. Like most of the county, Fremont Township walks a line between being independent and being influenced by Chicago. One thing that Fremont Township cannot escape is rising property values and taxes. Thanks to the growing mess in Cook County and the general state of taxes across Illinois, both homes and businesses are seeing their values spike. As populations, demographics, and economies shift, this may become a larger problem every year. The collar counties have turned to property tax appeals to balance things out, and Fremont is no exception. O’Connor will explore how values are being impacted and how taxpayers... Read More

The 2023 reassessment of Cook County was a watershed moment for the people of Chicago and Illinois at large. When the Cook County Assessor’s Office (CCAO) was through with their triennial sweep of Chicago’s southern areas, devastation for taxpayers was widespread. Some property owners saw assessed value hikes as high as 700%. Average spikes were between 30-50%, which alone made many homes unaffordable. As many of the townships were home to working families and middle-class people, this led to accusations of gentrification and saw many families sell their homes or lose them outright. Businesses were hit equally hard, forcing many to shutter their doors. The response from taxpayers to this was swift. Property tax appeals hit an all-time high, while many futile attempts were made to fix the problem legislatively. Even the CCAO was forced to encourage people to protest their taxes. Soon, it was discovered that many errors were... Read More

The 2024 reassessment of Chicago shook all of Cook County and Illinois as a whole. Targeting Chicago itself, this leg of the triennial reassessment saw record increases in both property values and taxes. Coupled with the devastating results from 2023, the 2024 outing was so severe that it pushed legislators across the state to action. Even the head of the Cook County Assessor’s Office (CCAO) encouraged diligence and even property tax appeals to bring things under control. One of the largest victims of the 2024 reassessment was the township of West Chicago. Home values soared 21% collectively, while commercial property jumped a dazzling 34%. This was a blow to both home and business owners and instilled in the minds of many taxpayers that they had to do something in the future to protect themselves. In 2025, assessments are again showing an increase, albeit a tiny one relative to 2024. This... Read More

The 2023 reassessment of Chicago’s southern and western suburbs was one for the history books and one that has left a lasting legacy across all of Cook County. This was the event that brought property hikes and questions about the competency of the Cook County Assessor’s Office (CCAO) to the forefront. When the numbers began to be known publicly, taxpayers across the Chicago area were terrified. Average increases of 50% for residential properties, with some individual homes seeing jumps of 500% or even 700%. Some neighborhoods and townships saw figures that were certain to cause mass gentrification. The outrage was felt beyond these areas, and a demand for accountability and change swept through Cook County and Illinois. Various legislative means were tried, but all failed due to political infighting. All the while, the other two thirds of Cook County knew that they were on borrowed time, as they would face... Read More