Overview
- The Cook County treasurer’s office released a 30-year study Monday showing total property taxes rose to $19.2 billion, up 182% since 1995 and far above inflation, with the 2024 median bill at $5,827 versus about $3,057 if taxes had tracked prices.
- Illinois’ Property Tax Extension Limitation Law caps annual increases to inflation or 5% but exemptions for home-rule governments, voter-approved hikes, certain bonds and first-year levies allowed local bodies to exceed the cap.
- K-12 districts drove much of the growth, with levies up about 189% to more than $10.5 billion, now nearly 55% of the county burden, as Illinois covers roughly a quarter of school costs and districts lean on property taxes.
- Tax increment financing districts, which divert growth in tax revenue to local redevelopment and are not capped by PTELL, saw collections climb more than 1,000% to over $1.8 billion, reaching about 10% of the county total.
- Residents face uneven impacts, with especially steep percentage hikes in predominantly Black neighborhoods such as Oakland and East Garfield Park, and the report calls for closing loopholes as the state revenue department continues a separate review and lawmakers float school funding bills without a broad fix enacted.