Chicago homeowners face largest property tax hike in 30 years

Chicago homeowners face the largest property tax hike in 30 years

Chicago homeowners just got hit with the biggest property tax increase in at least three decades. The median bill rose 16.

7% to $4,457, according to an analysis Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas released in November 2025. The county mailed about 1.8 million property tax bills, and payments came due December 15, 2025.

The increase caught many homeowners off guard because they thought elected leaders had blocked a tax hike.

City Council rejected the tax hike anyway

Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed a $300 million property tax increase in October 2024. The City Council voted 50-0 to reject it the following month, a rare unanimous rebuke of the mayor.

Johnson then dropped all property tax increase plans for the 2025 budget. Yet homeowners still saw massive increases in their bills.

The reason had nothing to do with the mayor’s proposal and everything to do with how property values shifted across the city.

Downtown property values collapsed after pandemic

Downtown Chicago office buildings have emptied since the pandemic pushed workers home. Office vacancy rates hit record highs above 25%, and hotels, restaurants, and retail lost value too.

That collapse in commercial property values meant Loop businesses paid $129 million less in property taxes. Here is the catch: property taxes in Illinois work like a zero-sum game.

When one group pays less, another group pays more.

Homeowners absorbed $469 million tax shift

The burden shifted squarely onto residential property owners.

Chicago homeowners absorbed an extra $469 million in taxes, which added roughly $700 to every homeowner’s bill. The residential share of the total tax burden rose from 51% to 54%.

Treasurer Pappas compared downtown’s collapse to the Loop giving the whole city pneumonia. The commercial sector’s problems spread to every neighborhood with single-family homes.

Commercial owners won big on appeals

Commercial property owners fought back through the appeals process and won big.

The Cook County Board of Review cut commercial property values by nearly 20% through appeals, while residential values dropped just 1%. Large hotels, data centers, and office buildings received major reductions.

Commercial owners often hire attorneys to file these appeals, giving them an edge that most homeowners do not have.

South and West Sides hit hardest

The steepest increases landed in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods on the South and West Sides. West Garfield Park saw median bills jump 133%, adding roughly $2,000 to each bill.

North Lawndale bills jumped 99%, about $1,900 more. Englewood saw an 82% increase, roughly $609 extra.

Meanwhile, Lincoln Park, one of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods, saw only a 6% increase.

Home values rebounded in poor areas

Why did poor neighborhoods get hit so hard? Home values on the South and West Sides rebounded after the Great Recession as buyers priced out of expensive North Side areas looked elsewhere.

Rising home values meant rising assessments. Many homes reached values not seen since 2006.

Assessor Fritz Kaegi called it wealth creation for longtime owners, but that wealth is only on paper when you cannot afford the tax bill.

Residents fear losing their homes

Community leaders held emergency town hall meetings across affected neighborhoods. Some homeowners saw their bills double or triple.

Many said they simply cannot afford the new payments. Faith leaders called the system rigged against poor people.

Several aldermen expressed fear that their constituents could lose their homes within two years if nothing changes.

The appeals system favors wealthy areas

The appeals process itself tilts toward the wealthy.

Property owners in poor neighborhoods rarely file appeals, with some areas seeing rates around just 5%. Wealthier neighborhoods appeal at rates between 53% and 92%.

Commercial owners can afford to hire property tax attorneys who know the system. Many homeowners do not even know they have the right to challenge their assessments.

Board of Review reopened appeals window

The Board of Review reopened the 2025 appeals window in December, giving homeowners in 24 townships another chance to file. But successful appeals now would only affect 2026 tax bills, not the current ones already due.

For immediate relief on current bills, homeowners must file a certificate of error. Those certificates only get granted when owners can prove a factual mistake on their assessment.

Assessor pushes for state relief program

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi proposed a circuit breaker program that would cap how much a homeowner’s bill can increase each year.

The relief would go to households earning under $100,000 whose bills spiked 25% or more. Similar programs already exist in 29 other states.

Getting the legislation passed in Springfield would require support from state lawmakers who may have other priorities.

Political blame game heats up

Kaegi blames the Board of Review for favoring commercial property owners in appeals. Board of Review commissioners blame Kaegi for inaccurate assessments that forced them to grant relief.

Kaegi now faces a primary challenge in March 2026, and the Cook County Democratic Party endorsed his opponent.

The property tax crisis adds another headache to Mayor Johnson’s ongoing budget battles with the City Council.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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