Property tax Backlash Reshapes Cook County Assessor Race

Cook County homeowners sent a clear message Tuesday: Rising property taxes have political consequences.

Lyons Township Assessor Pat Hynes unseated incumbent Fritz Kaegi by running strongest in the parts of the county where tax bills have surged the most, turning a technical office into a referendum on affordability. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the outcome highlights how deeply property taxes — long a third rail in Illinois real estate — have become a defining issue for both voters and the market.

The frustration is grounded in steep increases. Chicago’s median residential tax bill jumped 16.7 percent last year to $4,457, marking the third consecutive year of increases above 15 percent, according to the Cook County treasurer’s office. Taxpayers were asked to shoulder $872 million more overall, a spike that has rippled across neighborhoods.

Hynes capitalized on the situation, netting nearly 5,000 more votes than Kaegi across the five city wards with the largest bill increases. In the 24th Ward, where median taxes more than doubled, Hynes captured roughly two-thirds of the vote, according to the publication. Similar margins played out in the 16th Ward, spanning Chicago Lawn and Englewood, where bills rose more than 90 percent.

The divide widened in the suburbs, where Hynes built a decisive 35,000 vote advantage. In far south suburban University Park — where median tax bills surged roughly 255 percent — he won nearly 70 percent of voters. Markham and Dixmoor, which also saw outsized increases, moved heavily in his favor.

The political shift mirrors a structural one that surfaced over the past few years. During the pandemic, declining commercial property values and aggressive appeals by businesses helped shift more of the tax burden onto homeowners, according to the outlet. Businesses successfully appealed assessments far more often than residents, cutting their collective tax bills by billions while residential taxes climbed. More than 250,000 households saw increases of 25 percent or more over a recent reassessment cycle.

Kaegi has argued the assessor’s office isn’t solely to blame, pointing to the Cook County Board of Review and a long-criticized appeals system. A University of Chicago study found his reforms made valuations more equitable, reducing overassessments on lower-value homes while increasing them on higher-end properties. But those gains were overshadowed by rising bills — and by a system where fewer homeowners appeal and those who do tend to see smaller reductions.

The county’s triennial reassessment cycle has only amplified the volatility, according to the publication, with the south suburbs hit in 2024, Chicago in 2025 and the north suburbs next in line.

The election adds another layer of uncertainty to an already murky underwriting environment for the real estate industry. Property tax unpredictability has been a persistent drag on investment, complicating everything from multifamily acquisitions to hotel deals, according to the outlet. It’s also reshaping development math, as Hynes has suggested expanding the tax base — rather than recalibrating it — as a path forward.

— Eric Weilbacher