Truth in Taxation meeting draws large crowd to Cook County Courthouse

It was a packed house at the Cook County Courthouse Thursday night Dec. 1, as more than 20 people addressed the Board of Commissioners to share a mix emotions and thoughts on property tax increases and the 2017 county budget.

The commissioners’ room was full before the 6 p.m. start time on Thursday, and became a standing room only as the Truth in Taxation meeting began.

Many of the sentiments addressed to the commissioners and several members of county staff from the public focused on the fact high property taxes were problematic for local residents. 

Cook County residents began receiving their proposed 2017 tax statements toward the end of November. The proposed increase for Cook County is currently at 19.88%. A final levy and budget must be adopted on or before December 28.

There were moments of strong emotion during Thursday’s Truth in Taxation meeting, including boos from the crowd, raucous applause, stories of families struggling to make ends meet and those simply stating they might have to move away from Cook County due to the high cost of living. On the other side of the equation, there were those who reasoned both during the meeting and in statements sent to WTIP that the assessed value of local properties was a key source of the cause of the increase in property taxes, and that citing percentage increases rather than actual dollar amounts were a means of sensationalizing the actual amount of property tax increases in Cook County.

The next meeting of the Cook County Commissioners is Tuesday, Dec. 13.