The Civic Federation recently released its annual Effective Property Tax Rates report, which examines two- and ten-year trends in estimated effective tax rates for residential, commercial and industrial property in selected northeastern Illinois communities. The report highlights that in the ten-year period between tax years 2008 and 2017, the effective tax rates increased in all of the selected communities in Cook County and the collar counties (Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage and Will), except…
Since the beginning of FY2009, the Cook County Pension Fund has seen an increase in its liabilities not covered by assets, or the unfunded liability, of nearly $3.8 billion. The increase is attributable to a number of factors and has fluctuated over the years. The following table presents the contributing factors that have increased or decreased the fund’s unfunded liability since the beginning of FY2009. The largest contributor to the nearly $3.8 billion growth in unfunded liabilities…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. MAJOR FINDINGS Effective property tax rates are a measure of property tax burden for homeowners and businesses. They translate the tax rates on property tax bills into rates that reflect the percentage of full market value that a property owed in taxes for a given year. This report, produced annually by the Civic Federation, estimates the tax year 2017 (taxes payable in 2018) effective rates for…
The Civic Federation recently released its annual estimate of the full value of property in Cook County. The 2017 estimated value of all Cook County real estate was $585.6 billion. The 2017 estimates represent the fifth year in a row in which real estate values in Cook County increased after six straight years of decline. The 2017 total value estimate is an increase of $26.1 billion, or 4.7%, from the 2016 estimated full value. However, the 2017 full value of real estate is still $80.4 billion…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. MAJOR FINDINGS This report provides an estimate of the full market value of property in Cook County between tax years 2008 and 2017 using data provided by the Cook County Assessor and the Illinois Department of Revenue. The full market value of real estate in Cook County was approximately $585.8 billion in tax assessment year 2017. Tax year 2017 is the most recent year for which data are available.…
Cook County’s public health system has sounded an alarm about the increasing cost of services for which it does not receive reimbursement, saying that Cook County Health will not be able to fulfill its mission of providing care to all—regardless of ability to pay—if the trend continues. Cook County Health expects to provide $544 million of uncompensated care in the current fiscal year, which ends on November 30, 2019. That represents an increase of more than 8% from $502 million in FY2018 and…
A key Illinois Medicaid panel has recommended that the State move away from costly and often ineffective hospital detoxification services to treat opioid addiction. The Medicaid Advisory Committee on August 2 urged the State’s Medicaid agency to revise its reimbursement practices to discourage traditional hospital detox stays and provide financial incentives for evidence-based care such as medication-assisted treatment. The panel also recommended that the Illinois Department of Healthcare and…
A Commission created to analyze an annual five-year forecast of Cook County revenues held its first meeting in early July. The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance establishing an Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission on October 17, 2018. The Commission is intended to help the Board of Commissioners make informed budgetary decisions by evaluating long-term revenue estimates. The Commission is chaired by the Cook County Chief Financial Officer and consists of three…
The Cook County Chief Judge’s Office recently released a report and accompanying data assessing the effectiveness of a 2017 reform of bond court practices. The report increases transparency and allows for additional public analysis of pretrial justice in Cook County. The analysis in turn raises concerns about racial disparities and additional questions about bond court outcomes. General Order 18.8A, which became effective in September 2017, required Cook County bond court judges to maintain a…
The Illinois Department of Revenue recently announced that the final equalization factor for the Cook County 2018 property assessment year (taxes payable in 2019) is 2.9109. Each year the Illinois Department of Revenue calculates equalization factors for every county in order to achieve uniform property assessment throughout the State. The 2018 final equalization factor of 2.9109 is less than the final 2017 equalization factor of 2.9627. This does not mean that individual property tax bills…
