Humboldt Park woman says huge property tax spike may force her out of Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Across Chicago and Cook County, homeowners were told to brace for a spike in property taxes.
Yet what some homeowners are finding in the mail this week is leaving many to do double-takes, asking just how their new assessment can be right. And have only a couple of weeks to pay it.
One West Side resident told CBS 2's Jermont Terry she questions whether she can even afford to stay in the city now with her property tax hike.
It's the holidays, and of course, most people are looking forward to what the end of December and the New Year will bring. But after checking her mail this week, Becky Marshall is only left with worry.
"I've lived here all my life," Marshall said. "I love this city with everything I have."
But Marshall does not love her property tax bill.
"I do not. I do not," she said with a smirk, "and I laugh (because) it hurts and it's ridiculous."
Marshall called her 2021 Cook County property tax bill "brutal."
She and her husband moved into their Humboldt Park home in 2013. Last year, they paid a total of $3,664.49. This year, the bill is $7,172.62.
Marshall paid her first installment, leaving her with a balance of just under $5,200. That is all due by Dec. 30.
"Twenty-three days to come up with this kind of money," she said.
The Cook County Assessor's office warned homeowners there would be a spike in property taxes because there were fewer commercial businesses to tax. But a jump of this magnitude is something else altogether for Marshall.
"I feel like I got slammed against a wall," she said.
The tax bills did not come out in August. Instead, they are now more than 100 days late.
The county Assessor blamed the Cook County Board of Review, and vice versa. Yet homeowners are still expected to pay by Dec. 30.
"I know I'm not alone - which is what is also upsetting," Marshall said. "I'm concerned for my neighbors. I'm concerned for the neighborhood. I'm concerned for the city as a whole."
In the past 20 years, Marshall's taxes jumped more than 1,000 percent. Today, they are at the highest ever – and keep increasing.
"We're going to have to leave the city," Marshall said.
She questions if the goal is to force people out of Chicago.
"It's shocking, unbelievable, and cruel and flabbergasting," Marshall said. "I hope I sleep tonight."
This report from the county Assessor's office tracks changes in property taxes by Chicago township. For property tax purposes, the city is divided into eight townships – South (Loop and Near South Side), North (Near North Side), West (West Side), Lake View (North Side), Jefferson (Northwest Side), Rogers Park (Far North Side), Hyde Park (South/Southeast Side), and Lake (Southwest Side).