Cook County Launches New One-Stop Shop Property Tax Website

A consolidated website that offers one-stop shopping for property tax information is complete and available for use by the public, President Preckwinkle and Treasurer Maria Pappas announced this week. Cook County’s Property Tax Portal can be accessed  through www.CookCountyPropertyInfo.com, and through individual office home pages, such as: www.cookcountyil.gov.  Assessor Joseph Berrios, Clerk David Orr, Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore and Board of Review Commissioners Michael Cabonargi, Larry Rogers, and Dan Patlak worked with President Preckwinkle and Treasurer Pappas to provide the data for the site.

The Property Tax Portal is a collaborative effort that combines information from various county offices into one unified site, saving time and promoting efficiency. The site allows residents to have online access to information they may never have been aware of before – such as appeal or exemption opportunities or liens on their properties.

“This portal has been a collaborative effort with a number of different county offices, working together to offer convenience and efficiency to Cook County taxpayers,” President Preckwinkle said in a news release.  “With the launch of the new site today, residents will, for the first time, have a streamlined process to handle their property tax issues, and we are excited to be able to provide this kind of enhanced service.”

Previously, property owners who wanted to see the tax history of a home, business or land had to visit the websites of up to six different county offices to “piece together” the record of ownership, payments, exemptions, appeals, refunds and delinquencies – much of which goes back only one year.  Now owners will get five years of history, in linear form and on a single screen, without having to surf from website to website, determining what is owed, paid, and what refunds might be available. 

“The portal simplifies taxpayers’ search for property and tax information,” said Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.  “My plan is to continue working with the other county offices as we strive to provide taxpayers information through the use of technology.  It is an example of what can be achieved when government works together for the good of the taxpayer.”

The portal maximizes user experience in a number of ways.  For example, an owner can enter their Property Index Number, or address, to see if he or she had paid a previous installment, was receiving a tax-lowering exemption, or had a refund coming.  Owners need only enter their Property Index Number to see a screen shot that includes:

• Ownership and liens, from the Recorder of Deeds
• Payments and refunds, from the Treasurer
• Valuation, exemptions and appeals, from the Assessor
• Prior bill statuses, delinquencies and TIF information, from the Clerk
• Appeals, from the Board of Review

The portal also includes features such as a calendar of events and key dates provided by the president’s and the other offices.

The property and taxation offices have been working together closely to implement the Property Tax Portal, as part of President Preckwinkle’s Set Targets, Achieve Results (STAR) performance management initiative, where offices work together to develop concepts that provide better services to constituents through cooperation.  The portal was financed in its entirety from the budget of the Office of the Treasurer, at no additional cost to Cook County taxpayers. 

-Information provided by the Office of the Cook County Board President