City announces neighborhood affordability campaign

The Chicago Tax Assistance Center announced a citywide campaign to make sure Chicagoans receive all the property tax relief they’re entitled to.

“Unfortunately, many people who are eligible for tax relief fail to take advantage of it—either because they haven’t heard about it or they feel it’s too difficult to apply,” said Myer Blank, the center’s director.

The seven-week campaign will include 22 neighborhood meetings in communities across the city, door-hangers and mailings, public service announcements on radio and ads in community newspapers, and consumer assistance through both the 311 non-emergency service line and the Chicago Tax Assistance Center.

One of those meetings will be 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in Edgewater Branch Library, 1210 W. Elmdale Ave. Representatives from the Cook County Assessor’s Office and the Cook County Treasurer’s Office will assist families with information about available tax relief.

The city will also distribute information in local supermarkets, public libraries, at every alderman’s ward office, and through the CAPS program and community groups.

“The economy in the city and throughout most of the nation grew dramatically during the late 1990s,” Blank said. “And home values grew even faster than the rest of the economy... While this is good news if you want to sell your home or keep it as an investment over the long term, higher property values mean higher property tax bills.”

Among the tax relief programs available to senior citizens are the Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption, the Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze Exemption, the Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferral and the Circuit Breaker Program.

Tax-relief programs for long-term homeowners include the Homeowner Exemption, the Homeowner Exemption for Long-Term Properties, the Home Improvement Exemption and the Chicago Homeowner’s Assistance Program, which Mayor Daley created three years ago.

The city wants to make sure those people who need assistance the most—especially senior citizens and long-time residents of rapidly changing neighborhoods—get the help they need.