Most Cook County homeowners to see taxes rise again, treasurer says

Cook County property taxes are going up again for the vast majority of homeowners and business operators who will finally get their bills next month after another round of delays.

Of the 1.8 million bills set to hit mailboxes Sept. 1, about 1.3 million residences and 100,000 businesses will see an increase, according to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ annual analysis.

The total property tax bill for every city, town, school district and other taxing body across Cook County is more than $19.9 billion — an increase of about $744 million (or 3.9%) compared with last year. It’s the 32nd straight annual increase, according to the report.

Nearly all taxing agencies across the county raised their property tax levies this year, the analysis found. About 60% increased them by more than the 3.1% rate of inflation.

Of that new sum, homeowners will pay nearly $600 million, while business properties like offices, factories and big apartment buildings will pay the rest.

The biggest changes will be felt in suburban communities north of North Avenue, who had their properties reassessed in 2025. Growth in home values there “significantly outpaced” those for businesses, the report said, shifting 2% more of the region’s overall tax burden onto homeowners.

Unlike the major spike last cycle that saw a historic 15.7% increase in median bills across the northern suburbs, the median tax bill for homeowners there climbed by 6.7% this year to $8,007, per the analysis.

For multifamily buildings, the median bill went up by 3.5% to $26,772. The median commercial building bill, meanwhile, dropped by 3.5% to $28,253. Rising property taxes in apartment and commercial buildings often translates to higher rents for tenants.

Commercial values — a category that includes office space, hotels and restaurants — declined in Chicago and grew slowly in the northern suburbs.

It’s the fifth year in a row the higher tax burden has landed on homeowners as compared with business properties — office buildings in particular have suffered from high vacancy rates while home values soared during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessor Fritz Kaegi has unsuccessfully argued commercial properties are getting too big of a break when they appeal their valuations, though this year’s numbers show his office and the county’s Board of Review aren’t as drastically far apart as they were in previous years.

A separate analysis from Kaegi’s office also illustrates the decline in commercial values: Residential property’s share of the tax base is now the highest it's been since 2019, increasing by 11 percentage points in that span.

Final bill figures will vary widely depending on the city or suburb. Bills typically rise if a property’s assessment went up in relation to other homes and businesses after appeal. The presence of special taxing districts known as TIFs can also affect the ultimate bill.

There are 419 such tax increment financing districts in Cook County, which use diverted property tax dollars to pay for economic development projects. Tax dollars flowing into TIF districts totaled $1.9 billion in 2025, according to the report, a “modest” increase compared with other years when commercial values were booming.

Bills also go up when local villages, schools or park districts increase their levies — or voters approve referendums raising taxes.

The median homeowner’s bill in Prospect Heights, for example, rose by nearly 21% thanks in part to voters’ approval of $21.5 million in borrowing for road improvements and equipment. At the same time, home values shot up by 31%, while business properties went up by about 12.4%.

Like many other property tax referendums, the Prospect Heights vote had very low participation.

Median homeowner bills also went up in Barrington Hills (15%), South Barrington (16.4%), Inverness (12.2%) and Barrington (11.5%) after voters approved a $64 million bond issuance for school buildings for Barrington Unit School District 220. Home values there simultaneously climbed quicker than for business, the report notes. A series of school referendum votes also contributed to a boost to homeowner bills in Northbrook.

Pappas, an all-but-declared candidate for Chicago mayor, said governments needed to get a handle on their spending and voters needed to step up to reduce the local property tax burden.

“Local governments need to learn to do more with less, particularly in these precarious economic times,” Pappas said in a release. “And taxpayers need to vote. Residential taxes in the north and northwest suburbs increased at pace more than triple that of the inflation rate, in part because of recent tax-hike referendums approved in off-year elections by an average of one in five eligible voters.”

Chicago's overall taxes rose $196 million, or 2.2%, according to the report. Homeowner taxes went up by $120.9 million, or 2.7%. The median homeowner's bill is $4,597. Business taxes increased by nearly $75 million, or 1.8%.

Taxes in the south suburbs increased by a total of $177.2 million, or 3.9%, the analysis found. Residential bills went up by 3.8%, or $113 million, while businesses’ taxes increased by $64.5 million, or 4.3%.

Kaegi’s north suburban assessments initially lowered homeowners’ share of the tax burden and boosted the business burden. But after appeals to the county’s Board of Review and homeowner exemptions, the final residential share for homeowners rose to 64.5% — up from 62.4% the year before.

Kaegi said the “burden shift” between home and business owners was dramatic this cycle thanks to adoption of some reforms in both his office and the Board of Review. That included ironing out major differences in inputs for major commercial assessments, and Kaegi’s office’s move to defend its numbers at Board of Review hearings.

aquig@chicagotribune.com