Cook County Property Tax Bills To Be Sent Out In July

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 4, 2012 3:20PM

From the "Government in Action" file: it looks as though Cook County property tax bills will be mailed to homeowners on time for the first time since 1978. The Tribune reports that, barring something completely Berriosian in enormity, second installment property tax bills could make their way to the post office by July 1.

Before you start kvetching about how all government does is tax you, consider this: this is a good thing overall. It means that the office of County Assessor Joe Berrios and the Cook County Board of Review actually put their noses to the proverbial grindstone and completed the property tax appeal process on time.

Getting the bills to homeowners sooner means they have to be paid sooner, in this case August 1 if the bills are mailed in July. But it also means local school districts and other government agencies won't have to take out "tax anticipation notes"—essentially short-term loans to stay afloat while County Treasurer Maria Pappas goes about the business of collecting the tax payments. This will save the county $20 million.

County Clerk David Orr's office is now calculating the bills and could have them sent to Pappas's office as early as next week.

The issue of late property tax bills became a political issue in 2010, when Democratic leaders were accused of intentionally delaying their mailing until after the general election to help incumbents.