Why Cook County property tax bills will be late again this summer

A year after a monthslong delay in property tax bills left some Cook County school districts and other local governments scrambling to meet their financial obligations, county leaders announced Tuesday they’ll be late again this summer.

County officials said the next round of property tax bills, typically mailed in July and due in August, will be delayed about two months. It’s the result of an ongoing — and some say botched — countywide technology overhaul.

Last year’s second installment bills didn’t go out until November, forcing some local governments — such as school, library and park districts — to dip into their reserves or take out short-term loans to pay their bills while awaiting their property tax revenues.

Hoping to ease those difficulties this year, county board President Toni Preckwinkle said Tuesday the county intends to reopen and expand its Property Tax Bridge Fund Program, which would make up to $300 million in no-interest loans available to eligible districts.

“This bridge fund gives schools, libraries, parks, fire districts and other local governments a short-term tool to keep serving residents while we continue the deeper work of fixing a fragmented property tax system,” Preckwinkle said in Tuesday’s announcement.

The loans are available to suburban governments that rely on property taxes for 50% or more of their revenues.

The problematic technology upgrade was a hot-button issue ahead of March’s Democratic primary, when Preckwinkle fended off a challenge from Chicago Alderman Brendan O’Reilly despite his criticism of the troublesome overhaul.

While acknowledging the difficulties, Preckwinkle said the project is a much-needed modernization of an outdated system that had been “on the brink of collapse.”

Tuesday, she said the latest delay is evidence of the need for more reform in the property tax system.

“Structural reform is how we prevent this from becoming normal,” she said.