September 25, 2014
This annual report compares effective property tax rates in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois between 2003 and 2012. Effective tax rates for nearly all selected communities rose between 2011 and 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. Among the 12 selected Cook County communities, the Civic Federation found Harvey had the highest effective tax rate for residential properties at 8.87% in tax year 2012, while Chicago had the lowest residential rate at 1.84%.
Residential property tax rates in Chicago have risen by more than 30% since 2003, while all other selected communities in Cook County have experienced residential property tax increases of at least 55% over the ten year period. Commercial property tax rates also increased in the selected Cook County communities between 2003 and 2012, ranging from an increase of 4.1% in Evanston to an increase of 61.1% in Harvey. The full report also analyzes trends for selected communities in the collar counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will and McHenry.