Cook County Delays Second Property Tax Bills by Two Months

Overview

• Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Tuesday that second-installment property tax bills, normally sent in July, will be delayed by about two months because the county says the system needs time to catch up after last year’s disruption.
• Preckwinkle said the county intends to reopen the $300 million Property Tax Bridge Fund to offer no-interest short-term loans to suburban schools, libraries and other local districts and expects the Cook County board to vote on a measure next month.
• Chicago Public Schools will not be eligible for the bridge fund and officials said last year’s four-month delay forced CPS to take at least $1.6 billion in short-term operating loans plus a $246 million pension loan that produced large interest costs.
• County officials and reporting link the recurring timing problems to a multi-year modernization of the tax system by Tyler Technologies, and watchdogs and local leaders are pressing for clearer explanations and vendor accountability.
• Property tax timing matters because local schools and libraries get about 90% of their budgets from property taxes, and the county’s long-term levy growth has amplified the financial strain when bills and disbursements slip.