Residents of south Chicago suburb say they're drowning in record property taxes
CALUMET CITY, Ill. (CBS) -- It was a packed house at a townhall in Calumet City Monday night as residents complained about a record increase in their property taxes.
"I used to pay $3,500, now I have $9,000 due," one man said. "You tell me, who's going to help me to pay this bill."
A woman said the consequences of the tax spike she'd experienced could be dire.
"We're on the verge of losing our house by the end of this year," she said. "How am I supposed to come up with an additional $6,000 in two months?"
The homeowners pleaded for relief—with their bills increasing by thousands. The bills are due in just a few weeks.
Maybleine Giggers is retired and on a fixed income, and unsure of how she will come up with the money to pay.
"We've been a homeowner here in Calumet City—April the first will be 49 years," Giggers said. "It's getting more and more devastating for us."
At the townhall, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi pointed to school districts and the business reassessments behind the tax hikes.
"The tool that I have at the Assessor's office is assessments and exemptions. Maybe conditions changed this year, so that prices are down where they were last year. We'll look at it," Kaegi told the crowd at the town hall, "and also, if there is something about your house that will make it below average, rather than average, we'll listen."
But for many at the event, offering the possibility of tax exemptions is not enough.
"To me, that's not a resolution to the problem," said Susan Moore of Calumet City.
The Assessor's office will be hosting an additional four townhall meetings in the south suburbs to address the tax hikes. The next one is coming up Tuesday in the Village of Matteson.
