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COOK COUNTY TREASURER MARIA PAPPAS SENDING MORE THAN $47 MILLION IN AUTOMATIC REFUNDS TO HOMEOWNERS

More than 53,000 property owners who overpaid their First Installment taxes last year will automatically get back more than $47 million in refunds starting this week.

“If you have a refund coming, we’ll find you and return your money,” Pappas said. “By putting refunds on automatic pilot, we’re eliminating a lot of unnecessary paperwork and applications.”

More than 58 percent of the refunds will be deposited directly into property owners’ accounts over the next three months. See if you’re due an automatic refund by visiting cookcountytreasurer. com. Select the purple box labeled “Your Property Tax Overview” and enter your address or 14-digit Property Index Number (PIN).

Here’s a breakdown of some refunds:

16,629 homeowners who paid their property taxes online will see a total of $14.8 million electronically deposited to their bank or credit card accounts

22,241 homeowners who paid their taxes through a bank/mortgage escrow account will be mailed refund checks totaling $14.8 million

14,137 homeowners who paid taxes totaling $17.4 million in cash or by check will receive an electronic refund or will be mailed a refund application to ensure the proper party receives the refund

Most of the refunds will go to homeowners receiving property tax exemptions, which are applied to the Second Installment tax bill and reduce the total taxes due. The exemptions include: Homeowner, Senior Citizen, Senior Freeze and Disabled Persons. Second Installment 2021 property tax bills were due on December 30, 2022.

Pappas launched the automatic refund program in July 2018. Since then, more than 174,000 property owners have received about $129 million in refunds without having to fill out an application.

TILLMAN: DOLTON 149 GETS $150,000 STATE GRANT; SEN. SIMS THANKED

Calumet City, Ill. – South suburban Dolton School District 149 will receive a $150,000 grant from the state of Illinois in a supplemental budget recently approved by Illinois lawmakers, and its top elected official is offering a public “thank you” to a key state legislator who secured the funding.

Board of Education President Wilbur Tillman expressed his “deepest gratitude” to State Senator Elgie Sims (D-Chicago), the chair of the Illinois Senate Appropriations Committee, who sponsored the grant for the district.

“On behalf of the entire Board of Education, I want express my deepest gratitude to Senator Sims for championing the $150,000 grant for Dolton 149,” said Tillman. “The district appreciates Senator Sims support for and invest in local schools.”

The grant, which was part of a supplemental budget, HB 969, approved by lawmakers on January 10, 2023 during the legislature’s lame duck session, seeks to help the district with “violence interruption” and “community development,” according to the legislation.

“The safety of our students is a top priority for the district,” said Tillman. “And a thriving community contributes to the safety and well-being of children, and this money will help our efforts to strengthen our schools in the community.”

Tillman pledges to continue advocacy on behalf of the district.

“As Board President and a member of the board of education, I will remain a fierce advocate for securing additional money from Springfield to help our schools,” Tillman said. “I will fight for every dollar to improve our children’s education.”