Executive Summary
In Cook County, property taxes are one of homeowners’ most significant annual costs. These taxes are based on the assessed value of a home in accordance with the levies set by the numerous taxing jurisdictions throughout the county and the rates set by the County Clerk using those levies. If a home is incorrectly assessed, the owner has an opportunity to appeal to either or both the Cook County Assessor’s Office (CCAO) and the Cook County Board of Review (BOR). However, the process of appealing—including when, how, and what evidence to submit—can be difficult to navigate successfully. This is especially true for homeowners of color, who are less likely to appeal, less likely to win, and receive a smaller reduction in assessed value when they do win.
Although the accuracy of property tax assessments in Cook County has greatly improved over the past few years, appeal rates are also drastically increasing. For tax year 2024, the BOR processed over 273,000 appeals, and for tax year 2025, they processed over 290,000. While more accurate assessments should mean that appeals are less common, this is not the case. The appeals filed each year continue to rise, in part, as a response to massive increases in homeowners’ property tax bills following a reassessment. Additionally, some property owners appeal year over year as a matter of course. While some of the appeals filed are not meritorious, some homeowners do have valid claims of over-assessment that need to be corrected. For homeowners to successfully get those corrections, the appeal system in Cook County must be more equitable, accessible, and transparent. This report details some of the challenges present in the current appeals system and offers policy and reform recommendations organized into seven categories.
Accessibility
The property tax appeal system can be inaccessible to many homeowners, especially homeowners of color, low-income homeowners, homeowners whose primary language is not English, and homeowners with limited or no access to internet. Staff handling appeals can be difficult to contact, the online appeal system is not mobile-friendly, and most appeal application materials are only available in English. Recommendations for this category include providing forms in common languages other than English and upgrading the online appeal systems to be mobile-friendly, so as to not require access to a desktop computer or printer.
Data and Assessments
Because assessments are the basis of property taxes, and thus are at the center of appeals, the process of assessing properties and the ultimate valuations have an impact on who files appeals and why. If the assessed value of a home is incorrect, or if the data about a home is incorrect, homeowners may need to appeal in order to correct it. Recommendations for this category include ensuring property characteristics are reviewed by analysts and providing the CCAO with better access to data, so the accuracy of assessments continues to improve.
Outreach
Outreach and community education by the county offices is pivotal because the appeal system can be complicated and difficult to navigate, especially for homeowners unfamiliar with the process. While the CCAO and BOR have held a record number of outreach events in recent years and have developed strategies to share information across different platforms, there is still room for improvement. Recommendations for this category include revising online webinars to cater toward homeowners appealing online or via paper application and establishing local methods of filing appeals in-person to reduce barriers to applying.
Official Rules
Once a homeowner has decided to appeal, they have to follow the official rules of the CCAO and BOR. These rules can be vague, subjective, and full of legal jargon, but failure to comply can result in appeals being dismissed. Recommendations for this category include refining the organization of official rules to increase readability and revising both the rules and supplementary guidance to be written in plain language.
Appeal Review
After an appeal is filed, it is in the hands of CCAO and BOR analysts. However, it is not always clear how appeals are reviewed or whether there is a standard evaluation process to ensure consistency and equitable review, especially at the BOR. Without access to clear evaluation methods or objective review processes, homeowners cannot know what to expect or how to make a compelling argument. Recommendations for this category include publishing methods for the evaluation of appeals, along with any standards in place, and increasing the quantity and quality of communications with people who have active appeals.
Communication Between the CCAO and BOR
Although the property tax appeal system is complicated, the primary county offices involved—the CCAO and BOR—are staffed with experts and trained analysts who have the ability to streamline the process and share information with each other. However, communication between the offices is lacking. Without clear and consistent communication, appeals become unnecessarily redundant and each office lacks insight into the rational of the other. Recommendations for this category include establishing open lines of communication and sharing information on assessments and appeals between offices.
Public Transparency
Property taxes fund some of our most essential government services, but their history in Cook County includes controversy and uncertainty. The public has often been the last to know about the inner workings of the system, despite relying on that system to tax fairly and keep local governments operating. Access to information has improved in recent years, but the property tax system still lacks transparency and protections against conflicts of interest. Recommendations for this final category include adopting or extending office policies that ban elected officials from accepting donations from tax appeal attorneys and adopting and publishing comprehensive strategic plans.
Next Steps and Implementation
The recommendations in this report vary in scale, ease, timeframe, and necessary resources, and are designed to serve as a menu of options for stakeholders and leaders to choose from and prioritize. Each recommendation is based on a specific, evidence-backed concern with the property tax appeal system and, as such, addressing any would be a step toward a more equitable appeal process. Still, we recognize that this system is subject to real constraints, including funding and capacity. We also acknowledge that these recommendations are explicitly tied to the context of the existing property tax system. Current and future CCAO and BOR administrations have and will inherit systemic inequities they had no part in creating, including socioeconomic and racial disparities in housing generally. This is a challenging system to inherit and we appreciate the work that has already been done to make the system more just. The work needed to achieve an equitable system is, however, always ongoing. We welcome collaboration with the CCAO and BOR, in partnership with property tax experts and advocates across Cook County, in implementing the recommendations in this report. If you are interested in becoming involved with this work, please reach out to the authors.
