Overview
- Second-installment payments were due Monday night, sending many homeowners scrambling to cover unexpectedly larger bills or enroll in payment plans.
- A county treasurer study reports a citywide median increase of more than 16 percent, the largest in decades, with the average homeowner paying about $700 more.
- Assessor Fritz Kaegi says commercial assessment cuts by the Board of Review shifted the levy onto households, while the board argues it simply corrected over-assessments.
- Residents describe dramatic jumps — a Grand Crossing bill up 118 percent, a West Roseland bill more than doubling, and a Park Ridge bill tripling after an earlier Senior Freeze error was corrected.
- Limited relief includes filing certificates of error for factual mistakes and pursuing assessment appeals on schedule, as Kaegi presses for a state circuit breaker cap and campaign-donation limits for tax decision-makers.