This year’s second-installment tax bills are finally set to be issued. Bills will be mailed on Nov. 14 and will be due by Dec. 15.
Under state law, second-installment bills are supposed to be issued by July 1 so they can be paid by Aug. 1. But there have been extensive delays in issuing tax bills this year due to a complete overhaul of Cook County’s 1980s-era computer system.
For decades, the old system successfully calculated all 1.8 million Cook County property tax bills. Unfortunately, there were numerous problems in the changeover to the new system and, as a result, it took much longer than expected for county officials to feel confident that the new system would calculate tax bills accurately.
I urge taxpayers to review their tax bills when they arrive to make sure that the bills are correct and that all tax exemptions for which taxpayers are eligible appear on the bills. My office will be available to answer any questions about the bills and help taxpayers apply for missing exemptions.
Ali ElSaffar
Oak Park Township Assessor