Cook County mailing tax bills Sept. 1, after two-month delay

After a two-month delay, Cook County’s 1.8 million second installment property tax bills for Tax Year 2025 are expected to be mailed Sept. 1, county officials announced Tuesday.

Payments are due Oct. 1. Property owners can view their bills online now at cookcountypropertyinfo.com.

Second installment bills in Cook County typically are mailed by July 1 and due Aug. 1. However, ongoing problems with a yearslong overhaul of the county’s tax system led to delays once more this year.

In 2025, 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 dollars.

The Cook County independent Inspector General’s Office issued a report in July citing a “perfect storm” of bureaucratic shortcomings for the long-delayed upgrades and ensuing delays.

Inspector General Tirrell Paxton’s report states the county’s political structure “inherently creates operational challenges and delays, particularly because key functions are divided among separately elected officials whose offices operate with significant autonomy.”

The report also points the finger at the project’s initial contractor, Texas-based Tyler Technologies — which went unnamed in the document — for poor communication and failing to correct problems identified by county offices.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, this year’s holdup is in part a result of last year’s lengthier delay.

“The critical overhaul of the technology supporting the Cook County property tax system affected property tax processes and timelines last year, creating a cascade effect that delayed this year’s second installment bills by two months,” officials said.

ckeeshan@dailyherald.com