Pappas: More than 55,000 properties are in Cook County’s Tax Sale and 21,000 owe under $1,000

The deadline for Cook County property owners to avoid the Annual Tax Sale is fast approaching. Properties with unpaid 2020 property taxes (that were due in 2021) will be offered November 15 – 18, 2022.

Over $226 million is due on 55,857 homes, businesses and land. Less than $1,000 is owed on 14,189 properties in Chicago and 7,162 properties in suburban Cook County.

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is mailing certified notices informing property owners that their unpaid taxes are to be sold, which would put a lien against their properties. It is the first step in a process that can end with the loss of a home, business or land. In addition to the mailings, the Treasurer’s Office will publish delinquency property tax lists in area newspapers.

“We are bound by law to offer properties having delinquent taxes up for auction,” Pappas said. “The purpose is to recover back taxes and get the properties back on the tax rolls, not to seize property.”

Owners can avoid the Tax Sale by paying the delinquent taxes and interest before the sale begins November 15. Check to see if your taxes are delinquent by visiting cookcountytreasurer.com. Use the box on the home page labeled “Avoid the Tax Sale” to search for your home or other property by entering a Property Index Number or an address. Property owners can also use the website to make sure they are receiving the exemptions for which they qualify. Exemptions include the homeowner exemption, senior exemption and senior freeze exemption.

Payment can be made in five ways:

• Online for free at cookcountytreasurer.com
• In person at any Chase Bank location
• In person at any of more than 100 community banks where you have an account
• By mail
• In person at the Treasurer’s Office

Per Illinois law, an annual tax sale is conducted 13 months after the due date. But pandemic-related issues delayed the 2018 and 2019 tax sales. The 2018 Tax Sale was held in November 2021 and the 2019 Tax Sale was held this past May.