Study Finds More Than $2 Billion Shift In Cook County Property Taxes

cook county assessor
Photo illustration: Paula Friedrich/WBEZ
cook county assessor
Photo illustration: Paula Friedrich/WBEZ

Study Finds More Than $2 Billion Shift In Cook County Property Taxes

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From congressional to gubernatorial, Illinois can boast some high-stakes races in the 2018 March primary. But one that many likely didn’t expect to be hotly-contested is one of the most fierce: the race for Cook County Assessor. Why?

The Cook County Assessor’s Office has been getting flack in recent months for what critics say is a deeply flawed property tax assessment system. A new study from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy found that through the current assessment system, an estimated $2.2 billion in property taxes were shifted from under-taxed properties onto overtaxed properties between 2011 to 2015.

GUEST:

Jason Grotto, a reporter for ProPublica