FAQs Property Tax Answers in Cook County

Park & Longstreet, P.C. represents owners of residential, rental, commercial, and industrial property in Cook County, Illinois, in property tax assessment appeals. The firm concentrates exclusively on property tax appeals and does not practice in any other area of law.

Both partners, Stephanie Park and Scott Longstreet, are former Hearing Officers with the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, giving them first-hand insight into how appeal decisions are actually made. The firm has represented property owners since 2000, only attorneys (not staff) prepare each appeal, and the firm handles nothing but property tax appeals.

There are no upfront fees or charges. The firm's fee is based solely on a percentage of the property tax savings it obtains, so clients pay only if the appeal results in a reduction.

Filing an appeal is a legal right, but in most cases only an attorney (not a tax consultant) may represent a rental, commercial, or industrial property owner before the County Board of Review, the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, or the Circuit Court. Working with an experienced property tax attorney gives owners an advantage in navigating these strict procedural rules.

An assessment is the value the county places on a property, and it directly determines the property tax bill. The assessment is based on a percentage of the property's market value, so an increase in the assessment increases property taxes, while a successful appeal that lowers the assessment reduces the tax bill.

Property outside Cook County is assessed at 33.33% of market value. Cook County instead uses a classification system, assessing residential property at 10% of market value and commercial or industrial property at 25% of market value.

Cook County taxpayers have access to a three-tiered administrative appeal process: the County Assessor, the Board of Review, and the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (or the Circuit Court). Property owners outside Cook County generally have only a two-tiered process through the County Board of Review and either the State Property Tax Appeal Board or the Circuit Court.

Cook County properties are reassessed once every three years on a rotating basis across three reassessment districts: City, North, and South. Only one district is reassessed in any given year, and each district is further divided into townships.

The Assessor and the Board of Review each open a 35 or 30-day filing window for every township during that township's reassessment year. A property owner typically receives notice of this window from the Assessor only once every three years, when the property is reassessed, so it is important to track the applicable township's deadlines.

Each filing window must be strictly followed to preserve the right to appeal at that level. Because deadlines and procedures vary by agency and are not extended, missing the window for a given tier can forfeit the opportunity to challenge the assessment at that stage of the process.

An appeal is a legal right, and thousands of Cook County property owners successfully reduce their assessments each year, including appeals filed on over 5400,000 parcels with the Cook County Board of Review in a single recent year. Results depend on the specific facts and evidence for each property, which is why experienced legal representation can make a meaningful difference.

The firm's case examples include a residential owner saving over $14,000 per year for three years, a rental property owner saving over $52,000 over two years, a small car wash owner saving over $80,000 over three years, and a small industrial property owner saving over $140,000 over two years.

Property owners can contact Park & Longstreet, P.C. for a free property tax analysis. The firm's attorneys will review the assessment and advise on the best strategy to help ensure the owner is not paying more than a fair share of property taxes.

Property owners can contact Park & Longstreet, P.C. for a free property tax analysis. The firm's attorneys will review the assessment and advise on the best strategy to help ensure the owner is not paying more than a fair share of property taxes.