Illinois Needs Reform

Renew Cook County was established to highlight the impact of assessment decisions on small business, employers, local communities and the entire regional economy. Commercial and industrial property owners, local business, their employees added their voices. They asked questions, raised concerns and spoke honestly about the challenges they face in Cook County.

They made a simple request: the Cook County Assessor must improve performance and transparency and remain accountable for the ongoing mistakes, inaccuracies and so-called “glitches” that occur far too often. This lack of accuracy creates a burden on taxpayers and forces them to navigate a complicated appeals process just to fix the many mistakes that never should occur in the first place. Fairness and accuracy should not be this hard.

While the Assessor’s approach discourages growth, stability and investment in Cook County, the entire property tax system needs reform if we are going to thrive. As our state works to recover from the global public health crisis and economic crisis, it is more urgent than ever for our elected officials to finally make the tough decisions required to eliminate the over-reliance on property taxes to fund critical services. We need State leadership to address this challenge.

Cook County deserves a fair assessment system that encourages investment and growth. If we fail to address this fundamental challenge, we will never fully recover. Our future rests on our ability to implement reform now.