12 hr 8 min agoMay. 28, 2025 9:49 am
Chicago’s commercial landlords recently scored another victory in their long-running property tax battle. For 2025, they’ll cover 46% of the city’s property tax burden, down from 49% last year, after a wave of appeals slashed valuations on high-value buildings.
Initially, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office had pegged commercial values as outpacing residential, shifting more of the tax load to landlords. The Board of Review later reduced commercial assessments by 17%, while residential values were reduced by just 1%.
The appeals process, long seen as a tool of the well-resourced, likely played its usual role. Nearly all properties valued at over $5 million appealed during the last taxation cycle in 2021, 88% saw reductions. Chicago landlords argue that the tax system is opaque and inconsistent, deterring investment and adding pressure in a slow market with few comparable properties.
Commercial property owners have fared relatively well despite this, largely due to the appeals process. A recent report from the Cook County Treasurer reveals that from 2021 to 2023, commercial property owners shed $3.3 billion in taxes, while homeowners picked up nearly $2 billion more in taxes.
Crain’s Chicago Business
