Evanston taxpayers who saw a reduction in property valuations had been applied to their first-half tax bills received earlier this year may get a shock when second-half bills show up late next month.
Evanston taxpayers who saw a reduction in property valuations had been applied to their first-half tax bills received earlier this year may get a shock when second-half bills show up late next month.
The state Department of Revenue says the disparity between Cook County property assessments and reality has only increased — and so they’re jacking up the state equalization factor by 13 percent.
The state applies the adjustment in an effort to assure that all properties state-wide are taxed at 33 percent of their actual market value.
The state says that after assessment reductions by the county’s Board of Review, the average assessment in Cook County was actually only 9.89 percent — lower than what it had been in comparison to actual sales prices a year earlier.
So the equalization factor will rise from 2.9786 to 3.3701.
County Treasurer Maria Pappas says her target date for mailing new tax bills now is Nov. 22.