[0:09] So, everyone's joining us. We'll give
everyone just maybe a minute to join on
[0:14] here since we just started the meeting.
It looks like we have about 350 360
[0:22] participants and that is rising.
We'll just give you a minute and then
[0:28] we'll go ahead and start
[0:53] when we get to 400.
screen. Oh, we're at 401. Okay,
[0:59] » we'll go ahead and get started. Um,
still hopping on, but that's fine.
[1:05] So, hello everyone. Thank you for
joining us today. This is our annual um
[1:10] appeal rules meeting where we'll go over
every go over everything for 2026, any
[1:16] changes that are being implemented. My
name is Angelina Romero. I am the chief
[1:21] communications officer here at the Cook
County Assessor's Office. I'm going to
[1:26] go over quickly um just for housekeeping
purposes a few things and then I'll kick
[1:31] it off to my team to introduce
themselves. But let me just go over um
[1:36] really quickly some housekeeping
and reminders. So um
[1:42] to let you know our recording which was
announced at the beginning and we will
[1:48] be posting or after the meeting's
finished we will be um this video will
[1:54] be accessible on our official appeals
rule page. So you'll be able to go back
[1:59] to it and access. We will also share the
presentation as well. You'll be able to
[2:03] download it. I know people always ask
can you share the presentation? Where
[2:06] can I can I find the recording? So,
it'll all be posted there hopefully by
[2:10] tomorrow. Just give us, you know, the
rest of the day. It's a long video to
[2:14] render. Um, but we'll have it posted
there as well as the PowerPoint and the
[2:18] New Year rules.
Um, what else? Oh, yes. Regarding
[2:23] questions, this is important. So, we're
not going to use the chat feature. If
[2:27] you want to ask the question, please use
the Q&A box. So, if you look down at the
[2:32] bottom of Zoom, oh, there's already two
questions. It says Q&A. It's a lot
[2:36] easier for us to track in the Q&A with a
check mark if it's been answered. Um,
[2:41] it's harder to keep track with the chat
lo the chat box. So, please ask your
[2:46] questions there. We will be answering
the questions at the end. However, we
[2:51] have two persons on here designated to
manage the Q&A um as much as they can
[2:56] during the meeting. However, at the end,
I'll be moderating the um Q&A and being
[3:03] uh Oh, everyone can't hear me.
I don't know what's wrong with my
[3:12] um Okay, one second. Hi.
Testing. How do I sound now?
[3:20] » About the same, but
>> Okay. So maybe Mike if you want to
[3:26] repeat what I just said about using the
um Q&A feature rather than the chat.
[3:32] » Yes. Um a primary uh feature of first of
all good morning everyone. primary
[3:38] feature of these um sessions we do every
year is the ability for you all to ask
[3:43] questions and uh we don't have the chat
uh feature abled but we do have a Q&A
[3:50] feature abled in which you can ask the
questions and we can provide the answers
[3:54] as best we can.
>> Okay, thank you. And then also can you
[4:00] hear me? If you could just remind them
that we will answer questions at the
[4:03] end. However, two assigned staffers will
be um closing them out as we go as well.
[4:09] » Right. We will answer questions at the
end of the presentation. Yep.
[4:13] » Okay, perfect. Since you can't hear me,
let's kick it off. Go ahead.
[4:17] » We we hear you, Angelina. I think some
people, you know, I mean, I have you
[4:21] turned all the way up because I'm old
and, you know, losing my hearing anyway,
[4:25] but uh yeah, it's just a little
struggle.
[4:28] » All right. I don't want to yell at
anyone, so we'll kick it off. Mike, if
[4:31] you could introduce yourself and then
kick us off to the next person.
[4:34] » Sure. Thanks, Angelina. Good morning.
Uh, my name is Michael Piper. I'm the
[4:37] chief valuations officer. Uh, Christina.
>> Uh, hi. I am Christina Lynch. I am the
[4:45] director of legal.
>> Good morning. I'm Tasha Gibbons, the
[4:50] chief counsel for the Cook County
Assessor.
[4:54] » Gina Matisen. I'm senior legal counsel.
[5:00] TJ Sheml, director of commercial
valuations.
[5:07] » Ray or Brian.
[5:11] » Hello. I'm Raymond, director of
residential.
[5:16] » Brian Sila, director of special projects
commercial.
[5:20] » Awesome. Thank you. So, we'll go ahead
and get started and Tasha will kick it
[5:27] off. Thank you.
>> Okay. Good morning again everyone. Just
[5:31] this is just an overview of what we will
cover today. We will first talk a little
[5:36] bit of background on the role of the
assessor. Now most of you on this call
[5:40] are quite familiar with that but we may
have some new attendees. So we just want
[5:45] to provide that little bit of
background. We will also talk about the
[5:49] valuation data that's available online
on our website. rule changes for 2026
[5:56] um especially those that there are
changes will be highlighted and then a
[6:00] number of things stay just the same as
in 2025. Um valuation policy updates
[6:07] will also be covered. Um especially the
vacancy policy and uh approach to
[6:12] valuation with the cap rate. And then
finally we will touch on um somewhere in
[6:18] the process I know certificate of errors
and then there will be a summary at the
[6:22] end and opportunity for questions.
[6:30] Okay, let's move on from here. So just a
little bit again refresher um about the
[6:36] role of the assessor. We are statutoily
um both authorized and commanded to
[6:41] assess the property in Cook County which
is around 1.9 million parcels which are
[6:46] generally reassessed every um third year
in the trienal reassessment. As you
[6:51] know, the Cook County is divided up by
regions for the reassessment except for
[6:56] when there are when there is new
construction and we pick that up as well
[7:00] with our field team and other uh tools,
digital tools that we use to do that. We
[7:05] administer homestead exemptions,
everything from your typical homeowner
[7:09] exemption, which most people have um as
long as you're residing on that
[7:13] property, um to disabled veterans,
senior freeze exemptions, things like
[7:18] that. administer nonhomestead property
tax exemptions. So, your schools, uh,
[7:24] hospitals that qualify, um, charitable
organizations, things of that nature,
[7:28] and they can be partially or fully
exempt. Um, we also, of course, apply
[7:33] incentives, um, when properties qualify
for incentive classifications to promote
[7:38] development and to make sure that they
continue in operation in accordance with
[7:43] the ordinance for incentives. um it's
not on the slide but we also handle uh
[7:48] property divisions and consolidations of
course that happens with development
[7:52] with sales of portions of property and
things like that and so we do work with
[7:57] those divisions along with the county
clerk and then out of as a result of
[8:01] that we also process AL's assessment by
legal description and then that works
[8:07] with the treasurer so that people can
pay their portion of taxes until those
[8:11] pen divisions are completed and then the
Another very important thing we do is we
[8:16] assist taxpayers with all of the above
matters. Um, and besides setting those
[8:22] initial assessments, we're looking at
information that's provided, you know,
[8:26] in the appeal review process. And of
course, if we um did not receive
[8:31] information or did not get something
right in the initial year, there is the
[8:35] provision that authorizes certificate of
air adjustments as well. So there are a
[8:39] number of things and again I know that
most people are familiar but it's just
[8:43] good to um review that information. So
next um we will talk a little bit more
[8:49] about the system
the property tax system which as you
[8:54] know it's not just the assessment but
that is a big part of how the portion of
[8:58] taxes are divided up among properties
and property owners. So it's very
[9:03] important how the assessments are set as
accurate as possible. We're also
[9:07] required to assess them uniformly, but
the numbers are set by the assessor and
[9:12] then they are capable of review by the
board of review and then so those
[9:16] assessments can be changed as we know
before the taxes are extended. And of
[9:21] course that extension uh we do not set
the tax rates or send out those tax
[9:26] bills. But the clerk has a very
important process in receiving the
[9:29] levies, the amount of money that the
local taxing districts need to provide
[9:34] services. And those levies are filed
with the clerk each year and are used in
[9:39] accordance with chapter 18 of the
property tax code to extend and
[9:43] calculate rates um to ensure that the
districts receive the money that they're
[9:48] supposed to um as long as it's in
accordance with the law pel and things
[9:53] like that. And um then what goes into
that the extension is based on the
[9:58] taxable value. So once all the
assessments are certified then of course
[10:02] they are equalized after the information
is provided to Idor the state agency who
[10:08] then creates an equalizer which for Cook
County brings us into um proportion with
[10:14] the rest of the state that does not
classify property equalizes our
[10:18] assessments and then that uh goes back
to the assessor for the deduction of
[10:23] exemptions um the type that apply to
homestead property and those are taken
[10:28] off the taxable value before the
extension. But as you can see, it's a
[10:33] myriad of agencies involved to get to
that. How does a bill become a bill in
[10:38] Cook County? And it starts with the
assessments. Actually starts with the
[10:43] inspections and and the the pens and
then the assessments.
[10:48] » Okay, moving on.
[10:52] » All right. So, we are engaged in
assessing a number of properties each
[10:57] year. So, you know, the city's around
half of that 1.9 million uh parcels. The
[11:02] other trial areas are a number of
parcels as well. And so, the assessor
[11:06] must look at not only each individual
property, but there's a mass scale that
[11:11] um happens with mass appraisal. We're
looking at both the forest and the
[11:14] trees. Um and looking at the forest,
we're trying to uh both accurately
[11:19] assess and uniformly assess in
accordance with both the Illinois
[11:22] Constitution and the property tax code
and the applicable county ordinance. and
[11:27] then to do our best to get those numbers
to reflect a uniform assessment amongst
[11:32] like kinds of properties within classes.
And so the information we received on
[11:37] appeal will give us more particulars
about the trees within that forest. But
[11:42] um the assessor is engaged in that mass
appraisal uh process. We use modeling
[11:46] for residential and worksheets and
information that we obtain from the
[11:51] market for commercial properties.
[11:56] Okay. Okay. And from there, I am going
to turn it over to Michael Piper right
[11:59] now to talk a little bit more about mass
appraisal.
[12:02] » Thank you, Tasha. So, we heard two
different um phrases that maybe don't
[12:07] seem consistent or aligned. Uh mass
appraisal and market value. And I
[12:13] guarantee you uh in our world they are
because the proper balance of the two uh
[12:20] equal fairness. So, what do we mean by
mass appraisal? And as it says here, the
[12:25] IAAO defines mass appraisal as the
systematic appraisal of groups of
[12:29] properties as of a given date, which is
usually January 1st of the following
[12:34] year, using standardized procedures and
statistical testing. And of course, the
[12:40] purpose of mass appraisal for what we do
is efficient and equitable valuation of
[12:44] all property within a jurisdiction for
at value or as it says at valorum tax
[12:50] purposes. And of course with mass
appraisal assessors develop a
[12:55] mathematical model to predict the market
value of properties. So what does that
[13:01] mean? Uh we basically
we we look at market value on each
[13:06] specific property but we have to apply a
uniform set of rules and methodologies
[13:12] for all properties within a particular
category. Uh go to the next slide
[13:17] please. Angelina,
[13:21] you can you can look at what we do in
terms of mass appraisal as uh we break
[13:26] it down into basically three different
property types for accessible
[13:31] properties. The first one of course is
residential. We are using uh basically
[13:36] for most residential properties a sales
model. Okay, residential assessments are
[13:42] based on property characteristics. A lot
of characteristics basically they come
[13:47] down to what? Size, condition, age and
location. A lot of other things are
[13:55] factored into that. Idoor sales data
which is our primary uh bread and
[14:00] butter. That's where we get the data
from. Uh we have a new tool and we'll
[14:05] talk about that a little later. our home
value report it which is useful for
[14:10] single family homes and class 211s and
it will give you the top five most
[14:16] significant sales which affect the
property's value um all data points that
[14:22] the model uses to estimate the
property's value. So it's a good thing
[14:26] to take a look at and you'll see this
and copy of the slide presentation.
[14:31] There's the website. It's very
interesting. Um this is ve very new for
[14:35] this year and I think it will be
something that you all will be finding
[14:39] helpful. So the next category of
properties um next slide Angelina
[14:45] industrial and commercial. Okay, we're
using an income approach, an incomebased
[14:53] model again based on factors and data
that we get from the market just like
[14:59] with sales modeling. But the exceptions
of course are new construction in which
[15:04] you know typically would employ the cost
approach. Uh same thing with special use
[15:10] properties and then taxable lease holds
which we value based on the remaining
[15:14] value of the lease. To develop its
income approach uh we use data derived
[15:20] from extensive market research to
develop rental rates, vacancy rates,
[15:25] operating expense ratios and
capitalization rates. And we're going to
[15:29] talk about how we uh uh make estimates
for our cap rate a little bit later.
[15:36] Also TJ will talk about that. Uh
something we're doing a little different
[15:39] for this year. This data is derived from
a variety of outside resources but also
[15:46] the Cook County Assessor Records. uh
Cook County Recorder of Deeds, IDORE. Uh
[15:51] we also employ uh Co-Star, Moody's
Analytics, Comstack, Tre, Near Map,
[15:59] Bloomback, Bloomberg News for just
business valuation that will lead us to
[16:04] what property certain types of
properties are worth. Uh CBRE and uh
[16:08] Price Waterhouse Cooper among others.
The model shows information for most of
[16:13] the industrial and commercial properties
in Cook County.
[16:17] Next slide.
Finally, we come to kind of a
[16:22] combination of the prior two. Um, to
create the valuations for mixeduse
[16:28] properties, we use a combination of both
the res and commercial data and it
[16:33] depends on the size and class. So, for
instance, the mixeduse commercial
[16:38] residential buildings under 20,000
square ft, the class 318s.
[16:43] Um, you'll be able to find that
information on our industrial and
[16:48] commercial model. For mixeduse buildings
which do not meet those parameters,
[16:54] uh, or those for class 212, the building
will instead be subject to a split class
[16:59] of commercial, which is class 5, and
residential class two or three. Okay.
[17:06] So, what I said, uh, I I I gave you some
information about, um, our valuations
[17:13] and how you can tend to look at what we
do in terms of mass appraisal, but in
[17:16] order to find those, um, Tasha is going
to point you to, uh, where that
[17:21] information will be on our website.
Tasha,
[17:28] » thank you. Okay, so we do have a lot of
data online. I'm sure most of you have
[17:35] um reviewed some of that, but in case
you hadn't for the township valuation
[17:39] models where where you can find them
either under data, you have valuation
[17:44] reports and under how it works, a new
button on our website to the left here.
[17:49] Um you cannot see my arrow, but um
hopefully you can see the highlighted
[17:52] box. There you go. Thank you. Um those
both are great sources for information.
[17:57] So, um, on the valuation reports, those
will be by township with information.
[18:03] Um, here's, uh, if you went to that that
button, this is what you'll find by
[18:07] township and whether you'd like to
review the residential commercial. Of
[18:11] course, you can review both, but that's
where you'll find. And it includes an a
[18:15] bit of information. I think we can go to
the next slide.
[18:19] » I just wanted to add as well, if you
scroll down in this particular page, you
[18:23] can see the archived valuation reports
as well.
[18:27] I'm sorry. Could you speak up, Angelina?
>> Oh, I'm sorry. I forget. I just wanted
[18:31] to say you could scroll down and there's
archived um assessment years as well.
[18:36] » That's great. And as you can see, this
would be the most recent uh full
[18:40] assessment year 2025. It includes things
that are indicating what do things look
[18:44] like. So, if you're on the residential,
the single family home value compared to
[18:49] how it was in 2024 and even a pri prior
years from that. And so we're seeing
[18:54] just a little bit of a softening of the
market in from 675 median to 636
[19:02] um in this particular Evston township I
believe it is. And um condos uh same
[19:07] little bit of lower value in 2025, but
it shows those median values. It shows
[19:12] where things were, where they are, also
some additional details. So, do uh check
[19:17] those out because I know you're looking
for information about how things are
[19:21] going in the market, what's happening
with our assessments, and it's just rich
[19:25] with um details and uh additional
information about um what goes into this
[19:31] and then our sales ratio analysis. Um
so, so that information uh reflects
[19:37] where things landed with the median.
[19:43] And then we also have this um uh the the
part to the right showed what uh the
[19:48] market and where our assessments were
which were close. And we also include
[19:52] that additional information um if the
assessments and that sales analysis if
[19:57] it's showing that the coods the
coefficients of dispersion are uh
[20:01] showing the uniformity is there as it
should be and um lack of regressivity.
[20:06] So that those details are available as
well. And then we also have a lot of
[20:10] information for the commercial models
that are used. Um specific types of
[20:14] properties. You can pull down the
worksheets. I'm going to go ahead and
[20:17] let TJ Shiml give a little bit more
information on the commercial
[20:21] worksheets, but it's rich with um uh
details of what went into the valuation.
[20:27] So it really helps you address that. And
I'll let TJ say a little bit more.
[20:31] » Thank you, Tasha. Um so the next two
slides are going to be on industrial
[20:35] commercial properties and the
information we provide. The CCO has
[20:39] published uh our underwriting and our
assumptions for the vast majority of
[20:44] industrial commercial properties for I
think since 2021.
[20:49] For 2026 it will be for the south uh
townships that we'll be publishing all
[20:54] of our underwriting. To get there you're
going to go to the methodology
[20:59] worksheets. You can see um as we publish
towns and finalize them, they will be
[21:04] populated. You can also see uh prior
ones from 20 uh 2025 and 2024.
[21:12] I would encourage anyone to look at that
first. It will give you all the
[21:17] necessary information of how we
underwrote it, which is the PGI,
[21:20] vacancy, operating expenses, and cap
rate. Uh, one thing that will come a
[21:25] little bit later and that will change on
our website, it's not changed yet is
[21:29] that we will be implementing a loaded
cap. Um, and also on the website it will
[21:36] if you are not familiar with I think the
income approach or you want to
[21:40] understand how we exactly do it, there
is a page that will lay out step by step
[21:44] what we do and how we do it.
[21:53] Okay, that is me. Um, thanks TJ.
So, this slide uh shows you that on our
[22:03] website we have um available to you the
appeals overview and we'll give you a
[22:07] listing of all of the the various
appeals related information and links
[22:12] that where you can file online. of
course, our official appeal rules that
[22:15] we're going through today and the video
that will be posted um in the next few
[22:20] days. Uh it also has our written
policies, our cap rate policy, our
[22:25] vacancy policy, demolition policy, and
properties under construction policy.
[22:30] So, all of those are on that appeals
overview um on the assessor's website
[22:39] and they're very useful.
So I'm going to talk a little bit about
[22:42] key points regarding the appeals
process. And again, some of this may be
[22:46] very basic and rudimentary. And of
course that is familiar to the
[22:49] practitioners that are attending this
meeting today, but not everybody is
[22:53] necessarily familiar um if you're new or
maybe not a practitioner. But current
[22:58] year assessments are appealed. It is the
assessment that's appealed. We don't
[23:02] you're not assessing property tax bills
or the amounts shown on a property tax
[23:06] bill. It is your assessment. Appeals of
course are filed to request a correction
[23:10] to the current year assessed valuation
which lays the foundation for property
[23:15] taxes. It's again it's not the amount of
the property tax bill.
[23:20] If you do get a reduction in your
assessed value that's this does not
[23:24] necessarily equate to a reduction in
your tax bill. It may if it is a
[23:28] significant enough reduction in assessed
value but is not necessarily the case.
[23:35] the assessor doesn't
uh the assessor um does not calculate or
[23:41] mail the property tax bills and we also
do not collect the property taxes.
[23:47] So next, a quick tour of the 2026 rules
um that we're going to go over and and
[23:53] talk to you about today. You of course
will be able to find them on that
[23:57] overview page that I mentioned earlier.
The official appeals rules will be there
[24:00] online
and uh we we hope that everyone will
[24:05] follow the rules. Um they are a little
bit lengthy but they are pretty clear
[24:10] and fairly easy to follow. Um and we
expect everybody to read and follow
[24:16] them. Um and if you have questions about
them, you can always reach out to any
[24:21] one of us that is on this call today or
on this webinar.
[24:25] So here's just the basic outline of the
things that we are going to go through
[24:28] and touch on and I should say highlight
specifically for the rules. Uh our
[24:33] general provisions uh our filing
assessment appeals representation and
[24:37] our deadlines the evidence that you have
to file in support of an assessed
[24:41] evaluation appeal and that will include
you know um that also applies to the
[24:46] filings for certificates of error as
well. many of those um or all of those
[24:51] evidence um in support of uh or excuse
me class change requests. We'll talk a
[24:56] little bit about those. We'll talk very
touch very briefly on omitted
[25:00] assessments. We'll talk a little bit
about property tax uh or tax exempt
[25:04] properties such as schools and
charitable organizations and government
[25:08] owned properties. Um re-reviews,
corrections of factual errors, and
[25:12] certificates of error. We'll talk a
little bit um in more detail about those
[25:15] as well.
Next slide, Angelina.
[25:20] So, our general provisions, some of the
highlights there. Uh the general
[25:24] provisions are covered in rules one
through four of the rules. Um again, uh
[25:29] they'll you'll find all of the forms
also on our website and there's a link
[25:32] to the website here on the in our in our
slideshow. We do uh expect substantial
[25:38] compliance with all of our rules.
Documents that are submitted should be
[25:42] legible and complete. we should be able
to read them so that we don't have
[25:46] difficulty reading them and they should
be complete when they're when they're
[25:49] filed. Um, please redact your non-public
personal information that you want
[25:54] redacted from your documents because
once you file them uh through our smart
[25:59] file system, they do become public
record and any redactions that might
[26:04] follow on those records will come um if
they are ever foyed um by somebody and
[26:11] we would follow all of the rules that
are um under FOYA for private and
[26:15] personal information.
The guidelines that we have that we will
[26:20] have available on our website will also
provide you some tips on redacting
[26:23] non-public personal information.
Photo copies of the completed forms and
[26:28] documents are accepted.
Um
[26:33] property inspection requests um we would
just ask that you please be cooperative
[26:38] with our inspectors as in the past
unfortunately we have had some
[26:41] difficulties with that. It seems to be
getting better. Thank you.
[26:46] um and don't file proper homestead
exemptions as an appeal. Our smart file
[26:50] application is set up to accept appeals
and certificate of error for valuations
[26:55] only. Homestead exemption filings have
to be completed on our website under the
[27:01] exemptions under the tab for exemptions.
There are it's a very specific and
[27:05] distinct separate filing for homestead
exemptions such as homeowners
[27:10] exemptions, senior citizens, senior
frees, disabled veterans and all of
[27:14] that.
[27:17] Next slide.
So, filing assessment, appeals,
[27:21] representation, and deadlines. These are
uh covered in rules 5 through 11 of our
[27:25] rules.
As a taxpayer, you're of course not
[27:29] required to obtain representation to
file an appeal before our office. There
[27:34] are instructions for filing an appeal
and they apply to both prosay um uh
[27:40] appellants and as well as um and those
who have representation. Of course,
[27:45] prosay meaning if you don't know what it
means, it means you're representing
[27:48] yourself. Deadlines for filing appeals
and supporting documentation are
[27:53] included in these rules and and we do
post all of our our appeal deadlines on
[27:58] our website. So, you can follow that as
well. important and be aware if you're
[28:03] not. Filers are also encouraged to file
a brief in support of their appeal. The
[28:07] narrative brief brief is helpful and our
analysts do review those.
[28:13] Filers should specify the estimated fair
market value of the property in their
[28:17] appeal.
[28:20] Uh if the property is part of a REIT, um
you should provide information regarding
[28:25] the REIT, including the valuation of the
property. If you don't know what a REIT
[28:28] is, it's a real estate investment trust.
It's essentially a company that pulls
[28:34] investments together for properties such
as multif family uh office buildings and
[28:39] industrial type properties and um allows
investors to pull their money together
[28:44] and can be public and if publicly traded
can be um can be and has benefits. There
[28:50] are pros and cons to um being part of a
read, but that's basically what it is.
[28:54] um and what to do when there are
multiple pins as covered in these rules.
[28:58] And then there are also tips for filing
condominium appeals which are um
[29:03] are good and helpful tips that you
should follow. Next slide.
[29:12] Focus on rule number 10, which is our
filing deadlines. Um please follow the
[29:17] filing deadlines. Um they're they are
posted on our website as I've already
[29:22] mentioned. We will not accept late filed
appeals. We just won't. Um except in the
[29:28] case of a smart file outage and we do
try to notify practitioners if we know
[29:33] about an outage. Um when you report it,
we do try to notify everybody about it.
[29:39] All documents that are filed in support
of an appeal should be filed or must be
[29:43] filed by the deadline. There are there's
no separate deadline for evidence
[29:46] submissions like the board of review
has. We have you have to file everything
[29:49] by the deadline. Um, and that's it. And
I'm going to turn it over to Gina.
[29:57] Gina's going to tell us um about some
more more rules.
[30:02] » Yes. So, this is um first major change
in our rules. So, you know, we have the
[30:06] fancy siren here. But anyway, uh
previously we had no time limits for
[30:11] when attorneys or other representatives
could file withdrawals or substitutions.
[30:16] This kind of caused a lot of chaos as we
were trying to get our appeal um results
[30:22] letters out because you know these uh
you substitutions were still coming in.
[30:26] So we do have a new deadline now. You
have to get your withdrawals and
[30:30] substitutions into us no later than 14
days after the official appeal closing
[30:36] deadline posted on our website. So
taxpayers can still use a representative
[30:40] of their choice or none. They don't have
to. but on the representative must file
[30:44] their withdrawal and our substitution
timely. Um, next slide, please.
[30:51] Uh, Angelina, next. Oh, thank you. So,
um, we're going to focus on I I'm sorry.
[30:58] Back to uh
>> Thank you.
[31:03] » Was this the slide?
>> That's it.
[31:05] » This is This slide's fine. The other one
was just kind of
[31:08] » ahead and then I couldn't get back.
>> That's okay. The previous slide was just
[31:12] a rundown of where some of the rules
were located, but you know, um they're
[31:16] located pretty much in the same places
like same place as they were last year.
[31:20] So, we're going to focus on photographs
this year because I'm not sure what
[31:24] happened last year because the
photograph rule really hasn't changed in
[31:28] years, but last year suddenly there was
a lot of confusion and consternation.
[31:33] So, we're just going to focus on that a
bit. Please note that the rule starts
[31:36] out except in the case of an individual
homeowner filing an appeal for their own
[31:41] residence. So no, your neighbor does not
have to go around taking pictures of the
[31:46] whole neighborhood in order to file an
appeal on based on their own home. Okay.
[31:51] However, for the for all of the others,
um you have to include a photograph of
[31:57] front of the subject property. It should
be in color and date stamped within one
[32:01] year of the lean date. You don't need
fancy equipment. you can just use your
[32:05] cell phone. And if you're not sure how
to make your cell phone date stamp
[32:08] stuff, I don't, for example, um you can
use our addestation form to say when you
[32:13] took it. So the addestation form just
needs to say, you know, Mike Mike Smith
[32:17] took these photos on January 12th or
whatever. You know, real simple. So I
[32:22] just wanted to again remind everyone
that this rule starts out except in the
[32:27] case of an individual homeowner file an
appeal for their own residence. And uh
[32:32] next slide, please.
[32:36] Okay. So, purchase and sales price. Now,
if the property is sold within the last
[32:42] two years, documents required by rule
13, you know, purchase and sales apply.
[32:47] Even if your valuation argument is not
based on the purchase price. So, if it's
[32:51] sold in the last two years, whether
you're ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar
[32:53] ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar
[32:53] ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar ar
ar ar ar argguing purchase price or not,
[32:55] you need to provide those documents
showing that it's sold. like enforced
[32:58] sales, you might have like a bankruptcy
order, a order approving sale from a
[33:02] foreclosure case, maybe a partition
order. There's all kinds of different
[33:06] things. Um, if it's a uh traditional
closing, uh provide us with a deed,
[33:12] purchase and sale agreement, closing
statements, and the Pax 203 if any
[33:15] personal property is included. Um, you
will also need to identify all parties
[33:20] to the transaction, and any relationship
between them must be identified. Um, in
[33:25] the case of um, arguing for a reduction
in sales price, a well organized brief
[33:31] is helpful where you talk about the
parties, their relationship if any, and
[33:35] then just talk a little bit about why
should we why should we adopt the sales
[33:39] price as a fair market valuation because
there is that prohibition on sales
[33:43] chasing. So just keep it real really
well organized, tight and tell us why.
[33:48] And then I am going to go ahead and turn
this over to Mike.
[33:53] Thank you, Gina. So, um you heard what
Gina just said. If it's a force sale, it
[33:59] doesn't preclude you from using it, but
um we need some explanation as to why.
[34:06] If you're going to submit an appraisal
to uh back up your essentially your case
[34:12] for a lower valuation,
um you must also provide the other
[34:18] appraisals that may have been out there.
Any that were prepared for that
[34:22] particular subject property within the
past 2 years of the lean date. All
[34:27] appraisals must be credible. And by
credible, we mean use path compliant and
[34:32] pertain to the property's highest and
best use, which is at the top of the
[34:37] list of use path compliant. The
appraisal must provide all pins for the
[34:43] subject property and the pins for all
properties used as comps. And you heard
[34:47] Christina talk about rules for um
multiple pins. So uh typically for
[34:53] residential properties, one address
equals one pin typically. For commercial
[34:58] properties, we may have anywhere from
two to 100 pins on a large commercial
[35:04] property. And we want to make sure that
when you submit your appeal, we're
[35:09] making an applesto apples comparison.
So, please provide all the pins. All
[35:14] appraisals must be based on available
and reasonable market data with
[35:19] appropriate adjustments applied. No
creative, and we use the term
[35:23] cherry-picking, please. And I'll explain
what that means in the next slide a
[35:27] little bit. But all appraisals using the
income approach to market value must use
[35:32] cap rate based on relevant current
market data and particularly if using a
[35:38] loaded cap rate. Next slide.
[35:43] All comps used should be comparable to
the subject. So this is what I was just
[35:47] referring to. We're looking for in your
comps your list of comps. um you should
[35:53] be using properties that are of similar
size, class, characteristics, and
[36:00] location. That doesn't mean it has to be
in the same location or the same size,
[36:05] but similar, which is for our purposes
kind of synonymous with the term
[36:10] comparable. Do not ignore the sale right
next door in favor of a lower comp that
[36:17] helps make your case that's a mile away
if there's one next door. So again, no
[36:22] cherry-picking, please. And and this is
not uh something new we've added to our
[36:27] policy, but we feel we have to reiterate
it because uh we get appeals that are
[36:32] submitted with a lot of information
about why we should adjust the market
[36:36] value. But when uh Rey, who handles the
residential, and TJ, who handles the
[36:42] commercial, when their staff look at the
appeals, they're looking for similar
[36:47] comps, and that's very important. Filers
must include a recent photo of the
[36:52] subject and each comp used and include
the pins for each. But see rule 12,
[36:59] as Gina just talked about, photographs.
Again, sale comps should be armslength
[37:05] transactions for fair market value. And
we all know what arms length means. If
[37:10] using again if using a force sale as a
sales comp, please explain why it's a
[37:16] good indicator of fair market value and
apply the appropriate adjustments. Next
[37:22] slide.
So finally with income producing
[37:27] properties uh I mentioned earlier that
we are updating our cap rate policy.
[37:31] TJ's going to talk about that in a
minute. But income producing property
[37:36] that's defined as a parcel in which
either entirely or partially non-ownero
[37:41] occupied and generates some rental
income. Hotels and motel are included
[37:47] even if they're owner occupied. Class
211 and class 212 however are not
[37:52] included. The arpie we don't we don't
use that anymore. It's no longer a
[37:57] separate form. Um but it is built into
smart file. So when you submit, it's
[38:03] built in there. So you can submit the
information we're looking for on there,
[38:07] which is basically prior 3 years of
income and expense information. Um,
[38:12] redact anything you need to. If you or
your client do not have this
[38:17] information, please use our attestation
form to explain why. Complete copies,
[38:23] complete copies of leases are preferred.
But if you don't have that, include
[38:28] complete lease summaries. all parties to
the lease, the rental amount, the
[38:32] identification of the space leased and
by unit number, square footage rented,
[38:38] net gross parties responsible for paying
property tax. So, um, we talked about
[38:44] our cap rate policy adjustments. Let's
talk about cap rates. TJ,
[38:50] » thank you, Mike.
Um so the big one of the biggest changes
[38:55] in 2026 will be the COA assessor will be
implementing a loaded cap rate. Um in
[39:02] the previous years we have had tax
expenses as part of the operating
[39:06] expenses and we did not load the cap.
This year we will be doing that for all
[39:12] all appeals regardless of it's the
south, the city or the north. Um, a tax
[39:17] load hopefully most people are familiar
with. It will take into consideration a
[39:22] property's local level assessment, the
property's uh or the state's
[39:25] equalization factor, and the estimated
2026 tax rate. When we're talking about
[39:31] specific tax rates, I'm going to start
with the South. uh looking at the south
[39:37] over the past I would say you know 10 to
12 years the largest decreases in tax
[39:44] rates always happen on reassessment
years and then they creep back up then
[39:47] they go back down. Data science has
looked at this and the best method that
[39:53] we found for this year is to def is to
revert back to or to go back to the 2023
[40:01] tax rate for south townships. So the
rate that it was in 2023, that final tax
[40:08] rate is what we're going to use for
south townships.
[40:11] » Yeah.
>> For the city, we are going to use the
[40:13] 2024 tax rate, which is the most
current. And for the north townships,
[40:18] because we do not have an updated tax
rate after the uh 2025 assessment right
[40:25] now, we are going to use our 2025
estimated tax tax rates. Uh to make this
[40:33] simpler, we are going to publish every
taxing district's effective tax rate and
[40:41] estimated tax rate. that will be on our
website in the next uh couple of weeks
[40:47] and then that is something that you can
uh go to look at and hopefully
[40:51] incorporate into the field.
>> I'm going to go ahead and turn it over
[40:55] to Tasha who's going to go who's going
to talk about I believe common area.
[41:02] » Uh that's me. Oh, is it
>> whatever.
[41:07] » My bad. Sorry.
>> That's okay. Thanks.
[41:10] Common area. So common area. What is
that? Common area is a is a specific
[41:16] valuation
um type. It's a dollar assessed
[41:20] valuation that is governed under section
10-35 of the property tax code. Common
[41:27] area is for condominium common areas.
Typically, uh that's what we see. Um
[41:34] common areas are things like landscaped
areas that are used by all of the owners
[41:39] in a in a condominium.
um or you know pools and you know you
[41:46] know a gym uh facility that's can be
used by all of the residents of a of a
[41:51] condominium building.
But uses use of the property for common
[41:56] area purposes is only one element of
common area. The rights of all of the
[42:00] individual owners as I mentioned is to
use and enjoy the common area and it has
[42:04] to be reflected in some document that we
need to see such as a deed, a
[42:07] declaration, an easements etc. These
documents have to establish that the
[42:12] individual owner's rights um are
exclusive uh to the exclusive use of
[42:17] those common areas on the property. Uh
again, evidence can include or should
[42:22] must include deeds, declarations,
amendments or similar documents which
[42:25] designate the property as common area.
Please just make sure that you correct
[42:29] or that you include the correct legal
description of the property. Um, and
[42:33] affidavit of use can be used and
submitted. And while they're they're
[42:37] helpful, they are not on their own
convincing. Uh, filers should provide
[42:42] these documents. Um, our office cannot
obtain these documents from the clerk's
[42:46] office on your behalf.
And that turns over back to
[42:54] » Thank you.
>> Yes.
[42:57] » Rule 18, land valuation. The CCO
generally values land at market value
[43:02] per square foot. There are some
exceptions that have special
[43:06] assessments. Uh farmland, open space,
unbuildable.
[43:10] Um when we look at land valuation, I
want to impress that it is the
[43:16] underlying zoning that determines the
land value more than anything else. It's
[43:23] not the use, it's the zoning because
that's what the land could be used for.
[43:27] So if you are in a commercial zoning, if
you have a commercial zoned property and
[43:33] you want to appeal on land, you want to
find other land parcels that are
[43:38] commercial zoned. They you don't want to
get one that's zoned industrial but used
[43:42] as commercial. So make sure that you are
submitting land comps that mirror the
[43:49] zoning type. And for the Cook County
assessor, the main zoning types are
[43:53] industrial, commercial, and residential
or multifamily.
[43:59] Uh, FEMA flood plane information. We
have a lot of that already. If you are
[44:04] in a FEMA flood plane, please feel free
to appeal, but tell me exactly why it's
[44:10] unbuildable or can't be. There is a big
difference between
[44:16] um different flood planes. Just because
you're in a flood plane doesn't
[44:19] necessarily mean it's unbuildable. Give
me give us the entire story of what can
[44:24] or can't be done there.
Unimproved land due to demolition. U how
[44:29] we do this is if there was a building on
a on a property we see that it was
[44:35] demoed. We will go and look at aerials
and try to figure out the first time
[44:41] that the demolition started and then we
will give that property 100 class value
[44:47] from that time on. We call a date
proration. If on appeal you want to
[44:52] provide the demolition permit, we will
go back to that date assuming that
[44:58] demolition has been started and there's
proof that the entire or all the
[45:03] structures on that property will be
demolished.
[45:07] So when you're submitting that I would
say uh demolition permits photos any
[45:13] other justification so that we can
clearly see the dates will help us give
[45:17] that date proration of changing it from
an improved parcel to 100 class. One
[45:24] note is that your specific class for
that year will not change if there is a
[45:30] date proration for a building. If you
have 10 days of a building and we value
[45:36] it as a say a 318 for 10 days, the
property will be overall be a 318 class,
[45:43] but it will be date parrated for only 10
days.
[45:47] Uh land square foot issues. Um the CCAO
is not the I would say the owner of the
[45:54] land records. uh the clerk does if
there's any discrepancies between the
[45:59] land square feet that we have, we will
check the the clerk's records and
[46:05] anything where there's a large
discrepancy. Um if we can go and look at
[46:10] it and it looks like there is an error,
we will check with the clerk. But if
[46:14] you're saying that, you know, this part
doesn't belong to me, but the clerk says
[46:17] it does, all those should try to be
resolved with the clerk and then sent
[46:21] in. We do not most of the time make land
changes from the clerk.
[46:29] » And then there's rule 18 for handling of
land square feet discrepancies. Uh for
[46:33] anyone who wants to specifically read
that I think we're going to go on to the
[46:38] next slide and I believe that's also me.
Yes.
[46:41] » Ongoing construction. Um, this is one of
the most complex and I would say
[46:47] detailed valuations that we do. As
properties are under construction, the
[46:52] value of that changes because as you
build and as you get more of the
[46:57] property completed, the value will
increase. Um, you know, a building
[47:02] doesn't go from zero value to a million
dollars when the certificate of occupy
[47:08] is issued.
I will first try to give it verbally
[47:12] give an overview but I would ask anyone
who wants to see this read the policy
[47:17] first reach out to our office if you
don't understand it this is complex but
[47:21] the easiest way to describe it is it is
a straight line value ad. So we estimate
[47:30] the com well we need the completion date
and then we estimate what the value of
[47:34] the property will be as complete using
today's inputs.
[47:40] If we say that the building excluding
the land is worth a million dollars and
[47:45] it's going to take 10 10 months to
complete it. We cut that up so every
[47:51] month you get an extra 100,000 in value.
During that time period though, we
[47:56] realized that you are gaining value, but
you're incomplete. So, there would be a
[48:00] deduction for that. So, we actually cut
that in half and then we average it. I
[48:06] know what I'm saying is complex and some
people might be scratching their head.
[48:11] Read the policy. There's some a lot of
good information on it and then feel
[48:16] free to reach out. But the easiest way
to say is that we estimate it on a value
[48:20] ad um a value ad model that as as every
month goes on and on, we add value and
[48:29] then we average it.
>> And I'm going to go ahead then and turn
[48:33] this over to I believe Gina.
>> Yes. Yes.
[48:38] » Okay. So we have updated the vacancy
rule and also vacancy policy. So another
[48:45] rule change alert. uh but still uh we
only grant 24 months of vacancy
[48:50] reductions due to any single event. So
that hasn't changed. And the types of
[48:54] evidence that we generally require are
still our completed vacancy occupancy
[48:58] affidavit. If you have an affidavit form
that you prefer to use, that's fine.
[49:03] Just make sure it gives us the same
information. Um interior and exterior
[49:07] photographs documenting the vacancy. And
again, there should be a date and they
[49:11] should be in color. Um, if you don't
have a date stamp photograph, use that
[49:15] add a stationation form. And also,
please do not try to submit video. We
[49:20] cannot accept video evidence,
unfortunately. And then, uh, income and
[49:24] expense information for income producing
properties. If for some reason you don't
[49:29] have this information because I don't
know, maybe it's a new business, go
[49:32] ahead and state that. Then we know. Uh,
next slide please. So then what is it
[49:38] that we changed? Okay. So we've expanded
the reasons for vacancy based arguments.
[49:44] Um there's casualty related vacancy
which applies to residential and
[49:47] incomeroucing properties. Um and this is
damage due to natural disasters, fire or
[49:53] flooding. Key evidence for this would
include reports detailing the damage
[49:57] such as you know fire report, maybe
police report, insurance claim report,
[50:02] uh you know adjuster reports, things
like that. Insurance claim information
[50:06] is helpful. There's marketbased vacancy
and that's uh applies to incomeroucing
[50:12] properties and that means the property
is experiencing a higher than market
[50:16] vacancy. You can look at our model
online to see what um what vacancy we've
[50:22] already applied to your property. And if
your, you know, properties got something
[50:27] higher than that, well, this might be a
type of um this might be a type of um
[50:32] appeal you should consider. But
basically, we'd be looking for completed
[50:36] rent roll, leases, and proof of
marketing for lease or sale of the
[50:40] property. Now, what we've added then is
renovation related vacancy. Um, and this
[50:46] applies to incomeroucing properties
only. And you know, sometimes your
[50:50] building it's getting old and crummy.
You know, tenants don't really want to
[50:54] rent it. Well, and you need to rent
renovate it to make it nice so that
[50:58] tenants come in. Okay, we we will um we
will look at that type of vacancy as
[51:03] well. So, key evidence there would be
contractor statements, permits, and
[51:07] estimated construction timeline. Please
do read our um vacancy policy because
[51:13] you know I I can't go through every
single thing here but our policy is
[51:16] pretty detailed. Um I'm not sure if it's
on our website yet but it will be within
[51:21] a couple of days if it is next. Okay. Um
next slide please.
[51:29] Okay. So class change requests are
covered by rule 21. Um, some of the most
[51:33] common types of class change requests we
get are within class 2 and also class 5
[51:38] to 212 or 318. This rule covers those
and then other also other non-incentive
[51:43] class change requests. So depending on
what you're asking for, be sure to look
[51:47] at this rule and see exactly what we
want. But generally, we're going to be
[51:51] asking for photograph photographs
complying with rule 12, building details
[51:55] such as the floor plan, uh square
footage, room count, usage, uh the unit
[52:00] count, you know, how many commercial
units, how many residential units, uh
[52:04] show that there's separate entrances and
utility meters for mixed use and
[52:09] multi-unit properties. So, let's say you
bought some big house, you decided to
[52:14] turn it into a two or three flat. Be
sure to show us that there's separate
[52:17] entrances. um zoning information, leases
or current rent roles, and if it's an
[52:23] incomeroucing property, please follow
rule 16 as well. Uh next slide, please.
[52:31] Now, there's also class changes as we
know for various other types of
[52:35] properties like class 4 for not for
profofits. There's all the incentive
[52:38] classes, particularly six, seven, and
eight. There's a lot of other types of
[52:42] incentives. Um so, be sure to check out
our incentives page to see if anything
[52:46] might apply for your client. and then
also the affordable housing. So, while
[52:50] this rule doesn't specifically give you
all the evidence, you know, all the
[52:54] rules that you need to get those types
of classes, it directs you to where you
[52:58] should look. So, look there, see what it
is that we want, and then if you have
[53:02] questions, of course, reach out. So, I
am going to go ahead and turn this over
[53:08] to Christina.
Thanks, Gina. Uh, so some other useful
[53:14] rules. Rule 22 covers omitted
assessments. Um omitted assessments are
[53:19] assessments that are charged um in a
current year but are for previous years.
[53:26] The previous years we can assess both
land and improvements or we can say we
[53:31] only you know we didn't assess an
improvement or we didn't assess a a land
[53:36] um the appeal uh if you're appealing an
omitted assessment you can only appeal
[53:42] it in the year that the warrant was
issued. So if we issued omitted
[53:47] assessments in 2025 for tax years 2024,
23, and 22, you can only file an appeal
[53:56] in 2025.
Any years that you want to challenge an
[54:00] omitted assessment after that year have
to be filed as a certificate of error.
[54:06] Um so again, look at rule 22 on omitted
assessments. And then um there's some
[54:11] guidance um on bonafide purchaser
defense as well. That's important and
[54:16] useful.
Rule 23 covers exempt properties. These
[54:21] are the nonhomestead exemptions that
apply to properties such as churches,
[54:26] schools, um parks and libraries,
charitable organizations, religious
[54:33] institutions,
um properties owned by state, local and
[54:38] federal governments, burial grounds are
included as well. And then there are
[54:42] some other ones is but those are the
main those are the big ones. Um taxable
[54:47] lease holds fall under this rule as well
because uh and leaseold is of course a
[54:52] legal term of art that uh is for certain
types of exempt property owners uh when
[54:59] they lease out space. So if the
University of Illinois leases out space
[55:04] on their property and they have an
exemption on that property that that
[55:07] that lease hold estate can be taxable.
It depends on the terms of the agreement
[55:15] between the University of Illinois in
this example that I'm using and the lei.
[55:20] Sometimes those terms will in fact uh
define um rather than a taxable lease
[55:26] hold a license to use which means it is
not taxable. So it's really important
[55:31] that you get us those leases um uh so
that we can review them and determine
[55:37] whether it's a taxable leaseold or a
non-t taxable license to use. Rule 24 is
[55:44] covers the fact that we do not do
re-reviews.
[55:48] Uh if you have an issue, um you can
always appeal of course to the board of
[55:53] review or if there's something really
glaring or egregious that you really
[55:56] feel like we got it wrong, you can reach
out to us. Rule 25 covers correction of
[56:01] factual errors and rule 26 covers the
property location errors. And of course
[56:06] those in that includes, you know, if you
think that the address for your property
[56:11] that we currently show as the the actual
address of the property, if it's showing
[56:16] incorrectly in our system, that's what
you follow rule 26 uh for in order to
[56:21] correct. Next slide.
[56:28] Certificates of error under rule 27.
These are for valuationbased
[56:31] certificates of error. So you cannot
these are this does not cover
[56:36] certificates of error for homestead
exemptions like the homeowner, senior
[56:39] citizen, senior freeze. Of course those
are separate from the valuationbased
[56:42] certificates of error. These types of
certificates of error can be filed um
[56:48] you know on online and they are these
are while CFVS that are intended to be a
[56:53] mechanism for the assessor to correct
their own errors in past tax years. Of
[56:57] course, it's grown into um a much more
robust system for taxpayers to address
[57:02] prior year issues that they have with
their valuations. You can request a CV
[57:06] in Cook County for any perceived error
or mistake uh under section 14-15 of the
[57:12] property tax code. Of course, the your
certificate of error requests are not do
[57:17] not guarantee you a reduction. Um
counties outside of Cook County uh are
[57:22] limited to certificates of error based
on factual errors only. But here in
[57:25] Cooko County, the statute says any error
or mistake. Next slide.
[57:32] Some tips for under rule 27.
I mentioned that CVS of course can be
[57:38] filed online and many of you already
know that. Um they can be filed with a
[57:42] current year appeal or as a standalone
filing. Rule 27 covers the filing
[57:48] instructions for this. If you're filing
your certificate of error with a current
[57:51] assess current year assessment appeal,
you can file both directly through our
[57:56] smart file application. If you're filing
CVs as a standalone COVE outside of the
[58:02] township window for um for appeals, you
have to email that to the email address
[58:07] that's indicated in rule 27.
Unfortunately, we don't have a
[58:10] standalone filing system. Uh but we can
upload those through our FOY team
[58:17] or our FOY team can upload them uh to
our system. Uh but we do strongly
[58:22] recommend that you do file your C CVs
with a current year appeal because it's
[58:26] really just a lot easier for our office
to track and to and to review the CVs at
[58:31] the same time that they're filing a
current year appeal or reviewing current
[58:34] year appeals. They should be submitted
with the same types of supporting
[58:38] documentation for appeals that you'll
find in rule covered in rules 12 through
[58:42] 21 of the rules. If you file a
certificate of error without evidence,
[58:46] you're pretty unlikely to succeed.
Certificates of error, which are the
[58:51] same basic filing that um either the
cert uh assessor's office or the board
[58:57] of review has already no changed are
also unlikely to succeed. Certificates
[59:03] of error for tax years that are pending
at PTAB or the circuit court are also
[59:08] unlikely to succeed except in some
limited circumstances. And if you have
[59:12] questions about that, you can reach out
to us
[59:15] after the webinar.
And next slide.
[59:23] All right. Certificates of filing
deadlines. Um, section 14-15C
[59:28] of the property tax code governs the
deadlines for most valuationbased CVs.
[59:33] And this it's not just three years prior
to the current year. It's 3 years after
[59:37] the date on which the annual judgment
and order of sale for that tax year was
[59:41] first entered. Meaning so if you uh you
know for uh let's say the last tax sale
[59:47] that occurred was for the 2022 tax year
and that happened in December of 2024.
[59:54] So 3 years means includes those three
years after that date
[1:00:00] uh or prior that right after the sale
date. Um we met we tal I talked briefly
[1:00:06] earlier about common area that section
is governed by section 14-15D.
[1:00:11] Um, basically what you can file a
certificate of error for it goes it was
[1:00:17] a there was an amendment made last year
to section 14-15.
[1:00:21] I believe it was last year. Um, that
basically it's basically about 20 years
[1:00:26] um and of course there are certain
things you know requirements that you
[1:00:30] have to meet to satisfy that to get the
common area for the 20 years prior but
[1:00:34] um tax generally taxes that are older
than 20 years are not collectible.
[1:00:39] Uh, exempt properties are governed under
section 14-25A.
[1:00:44] Um, it's three years prior to the date
of the Idor determinations. When you get
[1:00:48] an a letter from the Illinois Department
of Revenue, it will say it will identify
[1:00:52] an assessment year in that letter. If
so, if the assessment year in the letter
[1:00:56] is 2025, it's three years prior to 2025.
Um, and you'd file a certificate of
[1:01:03] error for those three prior years. If we
get the letter after 2025 and 26, we
[1:01:08] would apply it um on in 2026 and going
forward. Um and then we could also
[1:01:13] correct for 25 and then any prior years
prior to 2025. Again, if you have
[1:01:18] questions about it, let me know. And
then I'm going to turn it over to Gina
[1:01:22] to or no, um Tasha had a few things she
wanted to say first before Gina finishes
[1:01:27] up for us.
>> This will be brief. I know we've covered
[1:01:30] a lot of material, but I know that
there's questions uh surrounding the
[1:01:34] valuation CVs and perhaps even exemption
CVES, but um we are working uh speedily
[1:01:42] on those. There there was a number there
were a number of months where we simply
[1:01:46] could not process the certificate of
errors while transitioning from the
[1:01:50] mainframe and 400 system to is world for
CVs. I mean it was a longer period than
[1:01:55] we had hoped, but as soon as that
process was available, of course, you
[1:02:00] know, making sure testing and then
starting to work um with it in December
[1:02:05] of 2025.
Um it's been where staff has been
[1:02:10] trained and they are working uh very
efficiently to get as many CVs worked
[1:02:16] and decided as possible. We are focused
on 2020s in particular because there was
[1:02:22] actually a deadline in November of 2025
based on what Christina just reviewed
[1:02:28] about the statute and the tax sale
timing. But because of this problem that
[1:02:32] we were prohibited from being able to
work the CVs, um we sought the
[1:02:36] assistance of the state's attorney's
office and the court and got a reprieve
[1:02:40] a tolling basically of that time period.
um use something that was familiar from
[1:02:45] the state's attorney's days to seek a
tolling so that we could have time once
[1:02:50] the process was available to work those
2020 CVs. We are very close with that
[1:02:55] deadline approaching and are almost
caught up on those 2020s. That said,
[1:03:01] you're probably thinking, well, where's
my refund? So, there is the part that we
[1:03:05] do to initially approve and issue the
COVID. Um some of them do require the
[1:03:10] board and court approval. As you know,
those that don't still are certified to
[1:03:14] the treasurer and then the treasurer is
responsible for processing those
[1:03:19] refunds. As you know, um there have been
some delays in both receiving and uh
[1:03:25] refunding um payments unfortunately. So
what we know at this point is that the
[1:03:32] treasur is focused on 2024 exemption CVs
being processed right now and working on
[1:03:39] some prior years getting that where the
testing works and they produce the right
[1:03:44] refunds and then they will return to the
valuation COVID refunds. What I
[1:03:50] understand is there were some errors
when they attempted to do some refunds
[1:03:54] um to refund some of those certificate
of errors on valuation issues that we
[1:03:58] had sent through and so they need to
make sure that they're processed
[1:04:02] correctly. They're working through that
as quickly as possible too. I will not
[1:04:05] speak for the treasurer's office but I
thought we could at least provide that
[1:04:10] update and as soon as they are able then
they will be working um through those
[1:04:14] refunds. We will also um just shout out
to our valuations team and Brian Cibila
[1:04:19] in particular and Christina who have
been working to make sure that the CVs
[1:04:24] are staying on track to be processed and
then the 21 through the 24ths will be as
[1:04:30] well. And if we have multiple years on a
CV then of course they're looking at the
[1:04:34] multiple years when they're addressing
the CVs.
[1:04:38] uh may not be all the news that you
would like to hear, but that gives you
[1:04:42] an update and we're doing everything we
can to keep those moving and uh to get
[1:04:46] the refunds out that that are
forthcoming.
[1:04:50] And then you're welcome to follow up
with the treasur's office from their
[1:04:53] end. Thanks for that. And I'll let Gina
wrap up on some other points.
[1:04:58] All right. So, um there was a couple
questions about the location of the
[1:05:02] addestation form. I accidentally, um
clicked the wrong answer. Um, but
[1:05:07] anyway, um, our rules do have
references, um, links, direct links to
[1:05:12] some of the documents you need,
including the addestation form. So, I
[1:05:15] just wanted to say that since I goofed
up the, um, type answer. Anyway, um,
[1:05:21] just to sum up, taxpayers and
representative and their representatives
[1:05:24] must read the appeal rules prior to
filing assessment appeal. In fact, Smart
[1:05:29] File has a button that you have to click
that says, I have read the appeal rules.
[1:05:33] Um current assessment years have to be
filed timely and within the published
[1:05:37] appeal window. Um we cannot accept early
appeals and we cannot accept late
[1:05:42] appeals. Um except of course in the for
file outage. Um we tell we give you a
[1:05:50] road map to what type of evidence that
you need for each kind of appeal. So
[1:05:53] please just look through our rules and
also our website provides a lot of
[1:05:58] information. Um, we don't have every
last little thing, but you know, we're
[1:06:02] always working on getting more and more
information out there. And if after
[1:06:06] looking at our website, rules and
everything, if you still have questions,
[1:06:09] of course, reach out to us. And next
slide, please, because here's some
[1:06:12] helpful information for you.
Next slide, please.
[1:06:20] So, we have four locations,
um, downtown, Bridge View, Markhamm, and
[1:06:25] Skoi. Uh right now uh since uh exemption
homestead exemption applications have
[1:06:31] gone out uh the branch offices are
likely to be very crowded with people
[1:06:35] who are trying to get their homestead
exemption. So if you have evaluation ex
[1:06:39] you know related question I would
suggest you come downtown now. Um you
[1:06:44] can schedule an appointment. Please note
that these appointments are not really
[1:06:47] hearings but you can talk to many of our
qualified staff for various reasons.
[1:06:51] incentives, FOYA, um you know, our
taxpayer resolutions team, um our
[1:06:58] property tax exempt team. Um I'm sure
I'm missing a few. Um our homestead
[1:07:02] exemptions, you can submit a FOYA
request online. Um the appeal filing
[1:07:07] assistance, if you're having trouble
actually using Smart File to file an
[1:07:11] appeal, um instead of reaching out to
one of the attorneys or something, reach
[1:07:14] out to one of the experts. And that's
the email here, assessor online appeals.
[1:07:18] They can really help you. um the exempt
property team. Again, if you have
[1:07:23] questions on how do I get this church
exempt, uh reach out to the experts, our
[1:07:27] exempt our exempt team and taxpayer
resolutions. They're just they're good
[1:07:32] at a lot of different things and also um
finding information for you, especially
[1:07:37] helping with um square footage issues.
Um they they help with a lot of issues
[1:07:42] and that is a really good email for you
to have in your back pocket. So, I'm
[1:07:46] going to turn this back over to
Angelina.
[1:07:54] I'm not sure if I'm still having audio
issues. Can you guys hear me?
[1:08:00] » Yeah,
>> not very well.
[1:08:02] » Not not well, but yeah, we can.
>> Okay, so someone else is going to have
[1:08:06] to do the Q&A.
Um,
[1:08:10] you can't hear me. One of you take that
on.
[1:08:14] Can you see the bottom? Gina or
Christina?
[1:08:18] So I think in wrapup um we if if we did
not answer your question today feel free
[1:08:23] to send an email and followup and we'll
provide the information that you
[1:08:28] requested um if we have it and this
information including the video will be
[1:08:33] available online um the updated policies
will be on available online shortly as
[1:08:39] well. We thank everyone for their time
and did I cover it appropriately
[1:08:43] Angelina? Well, no. We were gonna answer
a few. I think
[1:08:46] » Oh, gotcha. Sorry about that. Okay.
>> Well, you guys can hear me, right?
[1:08:51] » Now, we can. Yes.
>> Okay. I was gonna do it real quick
[1:08:54] because there are some very easy ones I
think you guys can knock out. We're not
[1:08:57] going to answer all of them because we
have gone over time. We'll dedicate
[1:09:00] maybe five minutes. So, really quickly,
feel like most questions were about the
[1:09:04] photos, Gina, and then the certificate
of air. So, some easy ones. Um, some of
[1:09:12] these are not going to answer because
these are these are easy. You could
[1:09:15] easily look at our website. Um, all
right.
[1:09:21] Okay. Could you please clarify the CCAO
requirement to provide photographs of
[1:09:26] comparable properties dated no earlier
than January 1 of the current year? How
[1:09:30] are the law firms with hundreds of cases
expected to obtain these photos? Are
[1:09:33] there any official resources or sources
that CCO considers acceptable?
[1:09:40] Okay, so for photographs, you really
need to make sure that you have a
[1:09:44] current photograph of the property that
you are using in your appeal and also
[1:09:49] for all the comps you use. What we see
so often, specific, particularly in
[1:09:55] residential appeals um from
practitioners is that you're saying that
[1:09:59] the property is a two-story brick home
and then the picture submitted is one
[1:10:05] story in wood. So, be sure that you're
looking at what your appeal says and the
[1:10:12] document that and the photograph that
you're submitting and make sure it
[1:10:15] matches up. Now, we're not going to go
out and investigate every photo to make
[1:10:19] sure you know that it's destamped right
then and there, but it needs to be
[1:10:22] current. It needs to be a current photo.
So, hopefully that answers your many of
[1:10:28] these photo questions. Make sure it
matches the property. Make sure it's
[1:10:32] current.
>> Okay. Um, here's one that came up. A
[1:10:36] couple of things. How are certificate of
error evaluations decisions transmitted
[1:10:40] and how do they secure a copy of the
certificate of error evaluation
[1:10:43] decision?
[1:10:49] » Currently, sorry,
we're unable to currently uh print
[1:10:55] certificate of error valuation decisions
um
[1:11:00] um using this is world at this time. The
only ones that we're able to print
[1:11:05] currently are for properties that are
100% tax exempt because those results
[1:11:10] are zero. Um, so we're working through
some things there so that we can again
[1:11:16] be able to print the decisions
themselves. Um, and and the recommended
[1:11:21] tax bills as well.
>> And in the meantime, we will directly
[1:11:25] transmit the certification to the
treasur's office and are working through
[1:11:30] the ability to print those decisions.
Got it. Thank you. Can a homeowner
[1:11:36] request a factual characteristic error
through the website at any time? Oh,
[1:11:42] when a question comes through, it bumps
my other question. Anytime or only
[1:11:45] within the appeal window of that
township.
[1:11:54] So, we have uh rules that address when
this can be done and how it can be done.
[1:11:59] So I believe it's like um the last three
rules um talk about certificates of
[1:12:04] error and also factual um correction of
factual errors. So if you just look at
[1:12:09] those rules, they'll tell you exactly
the different ways in which you can get
[1:12:13] that information to us. Uh when you can
do it and um you know just I think that
[1:12:20] just looking at those rules will really
answer a lot of these questions.
[1:12:24] » Okay. Um let's see. What is the
projected process? Oh, I feel like you
[1:12:30] answered that one now. Um, let's see.
Oh, another about the photos. A lot of
[1:12:35] coming up again. Is it required for
practitioners to use date stamp photos
[1:12:39] of the comparables used in the appeal?
>> It is.
[1:12:44] » Those photos need to be correct.
>> Yeah.
[1:12:46] » Yes. Thank you, Mike.
>> Yeah. and and and really if you if you
[1:12:51] look at the rules that um reference
photos um you're a practitioner,
[1:12:57] what we're really answering is the
question is how do you best make your
[1:13:03] case? Okay, you can submit whatever you
want out of a magazine, but we're not
[1:13:08] going to consider it as strongly as we
would is if you submitted photos,
[1:13:14] timestamped photos of uh the comparable
properties just as you would the subject
[1:13:19] property.
>> Okay. Yeah, lots of those photo ones.
[1:13:24] Um,
[1:13:32] uh, maybe this one will be our last one.
Why a certificate of air related? Why
[1:13:37] isn't the cert certificate of air
decision letter directed to the attorney
[1:13:40] who was hired by the client to represent
them? Many of these homeowners no longer
[1:13:45] live at the property by the time the CV
is resolved, and then the treasurer
[1:13:49] sends a check to the address that no
longer belongs to the owner.
[1:13:56] I believe that stems from the treasur's
request based on the taxpayer of record,
[1:14:02] but um we can certainly uh have a
discussion about that.
[1:14:10] » Okay. Um
yeah, something about the homeowners
[1:14:16] uh some exemption questions. These are
all posted on our website when the due
[1:14:21] date. We don't have a due date right now
when they're finally when they're due.
[1:14:26] We have a cuto off date for the
exemption applications that'll be found
[1:14:29] out online. All the questions you have
relating to the order of townships and
[1:14:34] appeal deadlines also you can find
online. Once we have those, we post
[1:14:39] them. We don't post exact dates, but we
post um time frames like we'll put early
[1:14:44] May, um late May as an example. So, most
of this you can find online, but again,
[1:14:51] you can access this video.
Um, it'll be posted hopefully by
[1:14:57] tomorrow. It's just a big file. Takes a
little time to render and all that. Um,
[1:15:02] and we'll also post a copy of the
presentation and the appeal rules will
[1:15:06] be updated themselves. On the
presentation, you have all of our
[1:15:09] contact information if you have any more
questions. Okay. Thank you very much for
[1:15:14] joining us today and thank you to our
presenters.
[1:15:19] All right, signing off. Bye.