At a recent press conference in Pilsen, Cook County Board of Review (BOR, Board) Commissioner and Chairman George Cardenas stood with community groups to outline the BOR’s outreach on the property tax appeals process in Pilsen. Since the last assessment in 2018, Pilsen homeowners have seen residential assessment increases of 51 percent, leading to property tax increases in those neighborhoods of up to 46 percent. Expanded outreach efforts to residents by Commissioner Cardenas and the Board of Review, in partnership with neighborhood community groups, led to 25 percent more individual filings for appeals, and a 52 percent increase in appeals granted to Pilsen residents compared to last cycle. Neighborhoods that have traditionally not used the property tax appeal system at the same rate as affluent neighborhoods have seen increases in appeals this year. Overall, residential filings in Pilsen were up 25 percent in 2022 compared to the last assessment in 2018, with 9,486 (2018) versus 11,907 (2022). Additionally, in 2022:

• Individual versus attorney filings were 721 compared to 641 in 2018;

• Fifty-three percent of filings were individual in West Township (where Pilsen is located), while the overall County average is 23.5 percent;

• Fifty-two percent of 1,362 Pilsen residents saw a property tax cut after their appeal;

• Pilsen homeowners saw an average assessed valuation reduction of 10.7%, or $5,746; and

• Forty-three percent of commercial filers in Pilsen saw reductions, with an average reduction of 35 percent.

Commissioner Cardenas will open a Southwest Side satellite office to help meet the demand and give taxpayers options other than public meetings and help them navigate the property tax system. The office will be located at 3476 S Archer, with hours from 9 to 5 every day, no appointment needed. Cardenas and BOR tried to reform Illinois’ Long Term Homeowner Exemption after it failed to help Pilsen homeowners, but the bill (HB 3070) was not given a vote.