Appeals

The Cook County Assessor’s office will be accepting appeals from Oak Park property owners through June 24, 2011.  Homeowners needing help filing appeals can call the Oak Park Township Assessor’s office at: (708) 383-8005 for an appeal appointment, and can also find appeal information online at www.cookcountyassessor.com.  

Because property tax bills in Cook County are paid a year late, tax bill changes resulting from the 2011 reassessment will not appear on property tax bills until the fall of 2012. 

Unless an appeal is filed, the new assessed values should be in effect until the next reassessment in 2014.  

A successful assessment appeal will reduce an individual property owner’s share of the local tax burden, resulting in a lower tax bill. 

There are two main types of appeals: 

1. Lack of uniformity: The basic rule of property assessment is that similar properties should be assessed similarly. If there is a lack of uniformity, an appeal is appropriate. To substantiate such an appeal, it is necessary to find properties comparable to yours that have lower assessed valuations. The Township Assessor can help you find comparable properties quickly and easily.
2. Errors in property characteristics: Every residential property has a set of characteristics which determine the property’s assessed valuation. A copy of the characteristics file will be mailed with the notice of reassessment and can also be viewed on the Cook County Assessor’s web site. If there are mistakes in the characteristics file, an appeal to correct the mistake and possibly reduce your assessed valuation is appropriate. 

A wide range of characteristics can influence your assessed valuation, including a property’s interior square footage, state of repair, and proximity to undesirable conditions. Not all mistakes in the characteristics file will lead to reductions in your assessed valuation, but it can be worthwhile to check the file for accuracy.