Watchdog: Simplify Property Tax System
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- A taxpayer watchdog group is out with a recommendation – simplify Cook County's complicated property tax system.
WBBM Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports that if you've looked at your property tax bill lately, you likely had trouble making heads or tails of it.
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Under the current system, similar properties in comparable neighborhoods are often taxed at different rates.
On the most recent bill, sometimes the tax went up, even though the assessed valuation of the property went down.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the nonpartisan government and tax watchdog group The Civic Federation says the whole process should be made simpler and fairer.
The group also recommends consolidating the more than 1,300 taxing districts in Cook County. Currently, property owners pay taxes to as many as 15 units of local government.
