South Cook News

The owners of nearly 18,000 south suburban properties still haven't paid $77.9 million due on their 2018 property tax bills, according to an analysis of Cook County Treasurer data by South Cook News.

The analysis tracks 54 Cook County suburbs, home to 848,434 people. The 2018 bills were due in 2019.

The City of Harvey, pop. 24,386, has the most delinquent payers. Some 4,597 properties in Harvey have yet to pay $19.1 million in 2018 property tax, according to the treasurer. The city has approximately 8,200 households.

The Illinois State Comptroller reports that Harvey's annual budget in 2018 was $51.1 million. The city has yet to publish financial statements from 2019 or 2020.

Ford Heights, pop. 2,754, is owed $1.36 million. Its 2019 annual budget was $2.55 million, according to the Comptroller. The village has 920 households; 1,860 property taxpayers still haven't paid their 2018 bills, nearly double last year.

Chicago Heights (owed $8.6 million), Dolton ($5.4 million), Calumet City ($5.3 million) and Riverdale ($2.9 million) have the most 2018 delinquent bills. All are southeastern Cook County suburbs, adjacent the Indiana border, which have far more delinquent taxpayers than those in the southwest, according to the analysis.

Indiana caps property taxes at one percent of home value for residential property and three percent for industrial and commercial.

$5.25 million in property taxes, sells for $3 million

Tax bills have spiked over the past two decades in the south Cook County suburbs, as property values have remained flat or have even fallen, putting pressure on residential and business taxpayers alike.

According to the treasurer, Onzia Gooden, 69, hasn't paid property taxes on her 975 square-foot red brick two bedroom at 14834 Evans Ave in Dolton since 2014; she currently owes $12,077 plus interest.

In her defense, Gooden has already paid more than $38,000 in taxes on her home, for which she paid $54,000 in 1997. Her tax bill has risen 72 percent since 2000-- from $1,413 to $2,434 in 2019. 

Kenneth Sellers owes $4,395 in property taxes and late fees from 2018 on a 672 square-foot two bedroom A-frame at 18040 S. Lawndale Ave. in Homewood, built in 1944, according to the treasurer.

Its 2019 property tax bill is $3,306-- or 3.4 percent of the $96,950 the Cook County Assessor thinks it is worth. 

The home last sold for $25,000 in 2010 and, before that, $97,000 in 2002, when its tax bill was $1,901, or 43 percent lower. Over the past 20 years, total taxes on the Lawndale Ave. property have totaled just over $56,000.

Gina and Michael Thurston owe $8,705 on their 2018 bill for 1,000 square foot ranch at 17710 Harvard Lane in Country Club Hills. They paid $25,500 for it in 2012. The county says it is now worth $94,960.

Its 2019 property tax bill: $6,814, or 7.7 percent of the home's alleged value. That's an increase of 343 percent since 2000, when the home's tax bill was $1,534.

According to the treasurer, Thurstons haven't paid property taxes on the home since 2013. They owe a total of $36,302 plus interest.

Residential real estate taxes in the south suburbs are startlingly high. On commercial and industrial property, they are even higher.

The owners of Calumet Country Club in Homewood paid a total of $5.25 million in property taxes over the past two decades before finally deciding to sell the club last year for just $3 million to an Arizona real estate developer.

His first order of business: paying off $484,000-- two years worth-- of the club property tax bills.

Approximately 90 percent of the $1.77 million in delinquent 2018 Homewood tax bills are on commercial and industrial properties in the village.

They include the Rockford-based owners of a shopping center leased to discount retailer Big Lots, 3055 W. 183rd Street, which owes a grand total of $1.36 million in property taxes for 2017, 2018 and 2019, including $694,409 for last year alone.

Across the parking lot, the downtown trust that owns 3006 W. 183rd Street, home to Great American Bagel, owes $366,441 in property taxes. It also hasn't paid since 2016.

Last March, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas announced that the county's annual tax sale of delinquent properties would be indefinitely postponed.

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Delinquent Property Taxpayers in the South Suburbs

17,824 property owners in the southern Cook County suburbs still haven't paid their 2018 bills.

Community	# of delinquent properties	Total Owed	Pop.	Per capita
Harvey	4,597	$19,103,857	24,386	$783
Ford Heights	1,860	$1,358,798	2,754	$493
Phoenix	368	$911,611	1,884	$484
Dixmoor	529	$1,669,912	3,604	$463
Robbins	1,433	$2,142,940	5,037	$425
Chicago Heights	1,940	$8,575,798	29,322	$292
Riverdale	492	$3,226,905	12,793	$252
Dolton	546	$5,442,708	22,547	$241
Burnham	209	$881,562	4,158	$212
Markham	886	$2,317,898	12,493	$186
Matteson	157	$2,968,396	19,385	$153
Calumet City	927	$5,310,187	36,551	$145
South Chicago Heights	100	$574,192	4,076	$141
Olympia Fields	50	$545,281	4,821	$113
Country Club Hills	103	$1,773,425	16,758	$106
Calumet Park	165	$855,487	8,208	$104
Park Forest	221	$2,198,654	21,563	$102
East Hazel Crest	17	$153,999	1,586	$97
Hazel Crest	406	$1,282,270	13,549	$95
Homewood	93	$1,771,035	19,323	$92
Thornton	37	$218,784	2,545	$86
Sauk Village	227	$820,013	10,423	$79
Lansing	302	$2,119,293	27,904	$76
Blue Island	321	$1,592,260	22,611	$70
Flossmoor	63	$618,246	9,472	$65
Richton Park	83	$790,105	13,504	$59
South Holland	191	$1,096,311	21,677	$51
Posen	85	$270,296	6,149	$44
Lynwood	124	$395,526	9,279	$43
Palos Park	19	$195,072	4,842	$40
Crestwood	62	$382,451	10,831	$35
Steger	131	$307,734	9,366	$33
Midlothian	150	$428,009	14,595	$29
Glenwood	36	$237,321	8,657	$27
Oak Forest	133	$743,217	27,617	$27
Alsip	38	$508,889	19,022	$27
Summit	35	$275,874	11,260	$25
Orland Park	236	$1,092,948	58,749	$19
Evergreen Park	65	$346,914	19,479	$18
Tinley Park	74	$833,760	56,505	$15
Stickney	8	$88,763	6,679	$13
Burbank	27	$278,205	28,729	$10
Worth	22	$102,334	10,633	$10
Hometown	4	$39,521	4,272	$9
Chicago Ridge	33	$106,576	14,153	$8
Palos Heights	13	$89,946	12,480	$7
Oak Lawn	86	$397,557	55,936	$7
Lemont	35	$119,295	17,023	$7
Palos Hills	22	$95,295	17,318	$6
Justice	18	$65,209	12,800	$5
Orland Hills	10	$34,418	7,136	$5
Bridgeview	21	$59,215	16,124	$4
Hickory Hills	13	$45,621	13,816	$3
Merrionette Park	1	$2,909	2,050	$1
TOTAL	17,824	$77,862,802	848,434	$92

Sources: Cook County Treasurer; U.S. Census.