Cook County will automatically issue refunds to thousands of property owners

More than 29,000 property owners in Cook County will see a partial refund this month for taxes they paid last year. But it gets better.

County Treasurer Maria Pappas said her office will automatically disperse $8.3 million in property tax refunds for overpayments, meaning it won’t require homeowners to fill out refund applications like they have in the past, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The treasurer’s office adopted new technology last year that identifies through each payer’s routing number whether they paid too much by accident, or if their bill had been reduced.

Some homeowners and landlords are bracing for tax hikes this year now that Fritz Kaegi has taken the reins as Cook County assessor, having defeated the embattled Joe Berrios last year.

Kaegi announced when he took office last month that he would require commercial property owners to submit income data each year. Berrios was repeatedly criticized for undervaluing large properties. [CT] — Alex Nitkin