1
RACIAL DISPARITIES AND COOK COUNTY TAX SALE EVICTIONS
HOUSING ACTION ILLINOIS | NOVEMBER 2021
Housing Action Illinois analyzed 1,429 tax sale evictions of real
persons, not businesses, in Cook County that occurred between
September 2010 and February 2020. More than 95% of the
evictions in our dataset were from residential properties, mostly
single family homes.
During this period, tax sale evictions in Cook County most
disportionately occurred in majority-Black communities. Among
the 11 zip codes with the highest number of tax sale evictions,
73% of people identied as Black. By contrast, among the 44 zip
codes with zero tax sale evictions, 82% of people identied as white.
Compared to the total number of homes that are subject to the
tax sale, there are relatively few tax sale evictions. However, the
geographic locations where tax sale evictions occur reect the
historical racial inequities in procedures for dealing with past-due
property taxes.
We know anecdotally from legal service and human service providers
that tax sale evictions impact the most vulnerable households,
including seniors and people with disabilities.
A more racially equitable system for collecting delinquent property
taxes would place greater emphasis on maintaining people in
their homes, and not on the interests of private tax purchasers who
pay past-due taxes to local governments and generate prots for
themselves.
While there have been some reforms in recent years—and until
recently, tax sale evictions and the annual tax sale were paused due
to the COVID-19 pandemic—more needs to be done to ensure that
people do not lose their homes due to unpaid property taxes.
A system with a greater focus on keeping people in their homes
would place properties in a Community Land Trust when property
tax liens against properties are not repaid. More modest reforms
would exempt owner-occupied single family homes from the tax
sale for low amounts of past-due taxes when it can be demonstrated
that homeowners lack resources to pay their property taxes.
TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT
Tax sale: annual public auction where unpaid, past-due real
estate taxes from the previous year are sold to tax purchasers .
Tax purchaser: a private, third-party investor who buys un-
paid taxes. The tax purchaser pays the taxes to the county, and
in exchange, charges interest and fees to the property owner,
who must redeem the taxes within 30 months.
Redeem: pay off taxes, interest, penalties, and fees that have
been sold to a tax purchaser.
Tax sale eviction: an eviction that occurs when a tax purchas-
er takes ownership of the home after a person is unable to re-
deem their taxes in time (30 months after the taxes are sold).
TAX SALE EVICTIONS FROM RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTIES IN COOK COUNTY
Housing Action Illinois analyzed 1,429 tax sale evictions in Cook County
between September 2010 and February 2020. The map below illustrates
the number of tax sale evictions and percentage of the population
identifying as Black in each zip code.
LEGEND
Tax Sale Evictions
0
1–9
10–19
20–39
40–96
Population Identifying as Black
0%–9%
20%–29%
10%–19%
30%–39%
50%–59%
40%–49%
60%–69%
70%–79%
90%–99%
80%–89%
See Appendix A for a larger image of the map.
2
Housing Action Illinois analyzed 1,429 tax sale evictions in Cook
County between September 2010 and February 2020, comparing
the zip codes where the tax sale evictions occurred to race and
ethnicity data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
During this period, tax sale evictions in Cook County most
disportionately occurred in majority-Black communities.
In majority-Latinx
1
communities, tax sale evictions were
more prevalent than in majority-white communities, but
signicantly less than in majority-Black communities.
Specically, we analyzed tax sale evictions where those evicted
were real persons and not business entities. Of the 1,429 tax sale
evictions of real persons, a review of specic properties revealed that
more than 95% of the evictions were from residential properties,
and most were evictions from single-family homes.
We used total population data from the American Community
Survey and then analyzed at the zip code level for white, Black, and
Latinx populations.
In our dataset, 133 of the 177 Cook County zip codes had at least
one tax sale eviction. The highest number of tax sale evictions in a
single zip code was 96.
We categorized zip codes according to the number of tax sale
evictions in the following manner:
• Very High (40–96 Evictions)
• High (20–39 Evictions)
• Moderate (10–19 Evictions)
• Low (1–9 Evictions)
• Zero Evictions (0 Evictions)
Among the 11 zip codes in the Very High category:
• 19% of people identied as white;
• 73% of people identied as Black; and
• 21% identied as Latinx.
Among the 9 zip codes in the High category:
• 22% of people identied as white;
• 57% of people identied as Black; and
• 34% identied as Latinx.
Among the 13 zip codes in the Moderate category:
• 43% of people identied as white;
• 31% of people identied as Black; and
• 47% identied as Latinx.
Among the 100 zip codes in the Low category:
• 71% of people identied as white;
• 12% of people identied as Black; and
• 24% identied as Latinx.
Among the 44 zip codes in the Zero Evictions category:
• 82% of people identied as white;
• 5% of people identied as Black; and
• 7% identied as Latinx.
Detailed summary data can be found in Tables 1 and 2. Data for
individual zip codes is in Appendix B.
Mapping this data shows that zip codes with the most tax sale
evictions are primarily clustered on parts of the west and south sides
of Chicago, as well as certain parts of the south and west suburbs.
Data Sources
Tax sale eviction data for 1,658 cases between September 3, 2010
and February 10, 2020 was provided by the Cook County Sheriff
through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. We removed
duplicate listings of properties from the dataset, as well as non-
residential properties based on the owner’s name and other factors,
resulting in an unduplicated dataset of 1,429 tax sale evictions.
For demographic data, we analyzed 177 zip codes in Cook County
for which the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey
provides demographic and residential data.
This report does not control for varying population sizes by zip
code or demographic change between 2010 and 2014, but we
do not believe it would signicantly change the ndings due to
longstanding patterns of residential segregation.
Also, this report does not control for other important factors—such
as income and home values—that impact whether people can
afford their property taxes and the resources people have available
to deal with past-due taxes.
Importantly, our data does not include cases where a homeowner
lost their home prior to the court entering an eviction order through
another action (e.g., sale of the property or forfeiture of the home to
the tax purchaser).
KEY DATA FINDINGS
1
We use the term Latinx, although the U.S. Census Bureau terminology in the dataset we used is Hispanic or Latino.
3
Zip Codes Tax Sale Evictions Population
# % # % # %
Very High (40–96 evictions)
11 6% 676 47% 625,974 11%
High (20–39 evictions)
9 5% 271 19% 389,951 7%
Moderate (10–19 evictions)
13 7% 175 12% 619,750 11%
Low (1–9 evictions)
100 56% 307 21% 3,107,920 56%
No evictions 44 25% 0 0% 797,261 14%
Total
177 100% 1,429 100% 5,540,856 100%
Sources and Notes
Eviction data was provided by the Cook County Sheriff through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Population data is from the U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey (ACS) Demographic and Housing Estimates, 2019 ACS 5-Year
Estimates Data Proles, Table DP05 for Geography: ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTAs).
Our data for Population (all races), White, and Black/African American is based on “Race alone or in combination with one or more other races.”
Our data for Latinx comes from as well as “Total population Hispanic or Latino (of any race)” categories.
The following U.S. Census Data categories for race were not included in our analysis: American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian
and Other Pacic Islander; and Some Other Race.
Based on the data we used, the sum of populations by race and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be greater or lower than the total population.
Table 1. Zip codes, tax sale evictions, and population by tax sale eviction category.
Table 2. White, Black, and Latinx population by tax sale eviction category.
Population
(all races)
White Black Latinx
# % # % # %
Very High (40–96 evictions) 625,974 119,744 19% 455,792 73% 132,441 21%
High (20–39 evictions) 389,951 87,499 22% 221,736 57% 133,351 34%
Moderate (10–19 evictions) 619,750 264,821 43% 194,222 31% 293,610 47%
Low (1–9 evictions) 3,107,920 2,202,073 71% 379,387 12% 737,074 24%
No evictions 797,261 657,067 82% 41,479 5% 59,358 7%
All zip codes 5,540,856 3,331,204 60% 1,292,616 23% 1,355,834 24%
TABLES
4
THE TAX SALE PROCESS: AN OVERVIEW
Background
In Illinois, state law requires that counties hold an annual tax sale for
properties with delinquent property taxes from the previous year.
2
For residential properties whose taxes are sold, the delinquent
taxes, penalties, interest, and other costs must be paid off (known
as redeeming) within 30 months of the tax sale. If the amount due
is not paid in full, the tax purchaser can secure a tax deed from the
court and evict people from their home.
In Cook County, most households whose properties are subject to
the annual tax sale do not face an eventual tax sale eviction.
Based on the large number of properties subject to the tax sale
and much smaller number of tax sale evictions, we know that a
much larger number of homeowners eventually redeem their
unpaid taxes than are evicted, though the redemption cost—due
to interest and other charges—is often a much higher amount than
the property taxes that were originally overdue.
For example, if there is a mortgage on the home, the lender on the
mortgage will generally redeem the unpaid property taxes to protect
its interest in the home. Then, in many of those cases, the lender
seeks reimbursement from the homeowner. If the homeowner
cannot pay the lender back on whatever terms the lender is willing
to offer, the lender will foreclose on the homeowner.
There is not readily available data on this, but redeeming the taxes
is undoubtedly often part of a transaction that results in the home
being sold to pay off the tax debt.
Each of the 1,429 tax sale evictions in our dataset represents a
household, whether an individual or a family, that experienced
losing their home due to unpaid property taxes.
A 2012 report by the National Consumer Law Center points out that:
. . . tax sale procedures in most states are exceedingly
complicated and are generally understood only by
investors and purchasers. Inadequate notice and a
lack of judicial oversight over the process leave many
homeowners in the dark about steps they can take to avoid
a home loss. Homeowners most at risk are those who have
fallen into default because they are incapable of handling
their nancial affairs, such as individuals suffering from
Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other cognitive disorders.
3
Tax Sale Procedures
4
When property owners are delinquent even one day on their tax
bill, interest and penalties start to accrue. If a tax bill remains unpaid
nine months after the due date, state law requires the owner to be
notied by mail that the County Treasurer will offer the unpaid taxes
and interest penalty to tax buyers at the annual tax sale.
Tax purchasers bid on an interest rate that they plan to charge on
THE TAX SALE EVICTION PROCESS
In Illinois, state law requires that counties hold an annual tax sale for
properties with unpaid real estate taxes from the previous year.
When a property owner is even one day
late paying their property tax bill, interest and
penalties start to accrue.
If the taxes remain unpaid for long enough,
the county can sell the unpaid taxes to a tax
purchaser at the annual tax sale.
The tax purchaser pays the taxes to the county
and charges interest to the property owner.
If the property owner doesn’t redeem the
taxes in time, the tax purchaser can petition
the court to become the legal owner of the
property and evict the current residents.
The property owner now has 30 months
to pay off, or redeem, the taxes, which
includes paying:
• the unpaid taxes
• interest and penalties to the county
• interest to the tax purchaser
• the tax purchaser’s court fees and costs for
ling a petition for a tax deed.
2
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cook County’s Tax Year 2018 Annual Tax Sale, scheduled to begin May 8, 2020, was postponed.
It has been rescheduled to take place over multiple days starting on November 5, 2021.
3
“The Other Foreclosure Crisis: Property Tax Lien Sales.” National Consumer Law Center, 2012. https://www.nclc.org/issues/
the-other-foreclosure-crisis.html.
4
More information on the property tax sale and redemption process is available from the Cook County Clerk at https://www.
cookcountyclerkil.gov/service/delinquent-property-tax-search and Illinois Legal Aid Online at https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-
information/what-happens-if-i-dont-pay-my-property-taxes.
5
the debt, anywhere from 0% to 18% every six months.
5
The bid with
the lowest interest rate wins. The tax purchaser is required to pay
outstanding taxes on the property, starting with the tax year sold
and any prior years.
When a property owner’s taxes are sold, a tax lien is placed on the
property. This starts the clock on how long the property owner has to
gather and pay the money they owe to the tax purchaser.
At rst, the penalty interest is the winning bid at the property tax
auction. After six months, and every six months thereafter, the
initial penalty interest increases by the amount of the original bid.
For example, if a tax purchaser bids 5% and wins, it would mean
collecting 5% interest on the unpaid taxes for the rst six months,
10% for the next six months, and 15% for the six months after that.
Penalty interest rates can be as high as 36% a year.
6
This process only applies to past-due property taxes. However,
new property taxes are generally due every six months. If newly-
assessed property taxes are unpaid, the tax purchaser can buy them
and charge the property owner 12% interest per year—adding
additional costs for the homeowner.
While the tax sale process results in local taxing jurisdictions
recouping the outstanding tax debt and fees, when the taxes are
sold, the property owner is at risk of losing their property to the
buyer of the debt. If the owner cannot pay the outstanding fees plus
the original tax debt within 30 months, the tax purchaser can ask
the court for a tax deed and move to evict the current residents.
A key player in the tax sale system is the tax purchaser. The self-
interest of the tax purchaser is to maximize their prot. Defenders
of the current system maintain that tax purchasers help local
governments collect property taxes, but this does not account for
the indirect and long-term costs of the current system, such as those
caused by tax sale evictions.
After a tax sale, the original taxes and interest collected go directly
to taxing districts, but the additional fees, interest, and tax lien go
to the tax purchaser.
One important issue for further research is to better understand how
much total prot tax purchasers accrue through the tax sale process.
Tax purchasers are not required to make this information public.
However, this data would help determine how much household
wealth, particularly in communities of color, is being lost through
the tax sale system.
When a tax deed is issued, the investor typically acquires the property
at a fraction of its value, creating very large prots for the investor
and a huge loss of equity for the homeowner. In some cases, people
who lose their homes can le a petition seeking compensation from
a tax indemnity fund, but typically, such compensation only partially
covers the lost equity in the home.
7
State law requires counties in Illinois to have an indemnity fund.
Resources for the fund are generated through fees paid by the tax
purchaser during the tax sale process. In Cook County, the indemnity
fund has suffered from chronic underfunding, which is one of the
reasons that compensation to the homeowner is partial and can be
slow to pay out. To address this, a recent state law makes changes to
the fee structure in Cook County to generate additional resources
for the indemnity fund. This is a welcome reform, but the indemnity
fund does not address the root causes of tax sale evictions.
Many studies and media articles have noted the inequitable way in
which property taxes have historically been assessed for Black and
Latinx neighborhoods, in Cook County and many other parts of the
country.
This became a high prole issue in Cook County during Assessor
Joe Berrios’ nal years in ofce. In 2017, the Chicago Lawyers’
Committee for Civil Rights led a lawsuit on behalf of community
organizations to challenge the Cook County Assessor’s ofce, then
directed by Berrios, for conducting assessments that allegedly
systematically and illegally discriminated against people of color
and low-income taxpayers. In 2019, the case was settled, with
the plaintiffs noting that under the new Cook County Assessor,
Fritz Kaegi, “signicant reforms have improved the accuracy and
uniformity of the assessment model, and have made the system
more transparent.”
8
In Cook County, the historical inequities in our tax assessment
system have resulted in Black and Brown neighborhoods having
higher tax assessments than areas with more white homeowners. In
addition, property values in these neighborhoods have grown more
slowly, even as their property taxes have increased.
RACIAL EQUITY ANALYSIS
5
During the 2021 Illinois General Assembly session, legislation was passed to reduce the maximum bid from 18% to 9%.
6
Legislation passed during the 2021 Illinois General Assembly session will reduce the penalty interest rate to 18% per year.
7
See SB 1980, 101st General Assembly (2021). https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1980&GAID=
15&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=&SessionID=108&SpecSess=&Session=&GA=101.
8
More information on the lawsuit and settlement is available at https://www.clccrul.org/bpnc-v-berrios-resource-page.
6
A nationwide analysis released in March 2021 by the Center for
Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago Harris School of
Public Policy found that property valued in the bottom 10% within
a particular jurisdiction pays an effective tax rate that is, on average,
more than twice that paid by a property in the top 10%.
9
In Cook County, the analysis, covering the years 2006 to 2015,
found that the most expensive homes were assessed at 7.3% of
their value. The least expensive homes were assessed at 12.4%—
1.71 times the rate applied to the most expensive homes.
This trend in Cook County, as well as other parts of the country, has
meant white homeowners experience an implicit tax break that
increases property value.
The property tax assessment and property value inequality that Black
and Latinx households face are accompanied by other factors of
structural inequality. These households tend to have lower income,
lower rates of homeownership, less personal wealth, fewer assets
to pass on to future generations, and less access to estate planning.
Middle-income Black and Latinx families are more likely to
experience intergenerational debt in a way that white middle-
income families do not. For Black and Latinx households, college
tuition and rst homes are more likely to be funded through loans,
without receiving a boost from the generational transfer of wealth
from parents or other relations.
Coupled with other issues of racial inequality, tax sale evictions
contribute to the racial wealth gap in homeownership. For seniors
and other vulnerable households, including middle- and low-
income Black and Latinx households, this creates an obstacle to
passing on their most commonly-held valuable asset—their homes.
The loss of homes in Black and Latinx neighborhoods contributes to
a loss of wealth for those communities as a whole, and the tax lien
system literally transfers wealth out of those communities and into
the hands of investors, often corporations.
Studies in Cook County show that higher-income homeowners
are more likely to successfully appeal to lower their tax bills. For
example, in a review of property tax appeals in Cook County
between 2002 and 2015, researchers found Black homeowners
were much less likely to le an appeal for their assessments, less
likely to win and, if they won, received smaller reductions on their
assessments.
10
Recent reports from the Cook County Treasurer also conrm
racial disparities related to the property tax system, particularly
delinquent property taxes; about 75% of the taxes offered for sale
are for properties in majority-Black and Latinx communities.
11
In preparation for the 2018 Annual Tax Sale, to be held in November
2021, the Cook County Treasurer’s ofce has stated that about
$163.4 million in unpaid 2018 property taxes (that were to be paid
in 2019) is due on 36,000 homes, businesses, and parcels of land.
On 11,744 properties in Chicago and 7,700 properties in suburban
Cook County, less than $1,000 is owed.
12
Low-income homeowners, elderly owners on limited incomes,
those who lose mental capacity to manage their bills, and those
without appropriate legal help to understand how to make sure that
their property can be passed on to their heirs are very vulnerable
to losing their property in this process. Furthermore, communities
suffer when wealth is extracted through this type of property
transfer, including losing the stability of long-term homeowners.
Reducing the number of properties in Black and Latinx communities
that are subject to the tax sale and tax sale evictions is a key step
toward improving neighborhood conditions and building wealth
among local Black and Latinx developers and owners.
Overall, the number of tax sale evictions is not large compared
to the number of people with delinquent property taxes, or even
properties subject to the tax sale as a whole. However, where the
evictions happen reects larger, systemic racial disparities in our
property tax system that affect entire communities.
We know anecdotally from legal service and human service providers
that tax sale evictions impact the most vulnerable households,
including seniors and people with disabilities.
Systems that make it harder for households of color to maintain
homes as a nancial asset contribute to the racial wealth gap. Based
on the ndings of this report, it is important to use a racial equity
focus when providing short- and medium-term recommendations
RECOMMENDATIONS
9
Christopher Berry, Property Tax Fairness. University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Center for Municipal Finance.
https://propertytaxproject.uchicago.edu/.
10
Carlos Avenancio-Leon and Troup Howard. “The Assessment Gap: Racial Inequalities in Property Taxation.” SSRN Electronic
Journal. Elsevier BV, 2019. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3465010.
11
“Pappas: 36,000 properties are part of Cook County’s rst Tax Sale in more than two years, and 19,000 owe less than $1,000.”
Cook County Treasurer’s Ofce. September 13, 2021. https://cookcountytreasurer.com/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1495.
12
Ibid.
7
13
In September 2021, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi published an article outlining some recommendations in this area. The
article is available at https://medium.com/@AssessorCook/in-a-digital-economy-how-can-cities-create-a-more-equitable-property-tax-
system-370bacb4d01.
14
Andrew W. Kahrl, Unconscionable: Tax Delinquency Sales as a Form of Dignity Taking, 92 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 905 (2018).
Available at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol92/iss3/11.
15
More information is available at https://nyccli.org/abolish-the-nyc-tax-lien-sale/.
16
The ordinance text is available at https://code.dccouncil.us/us/dc/council/code/titles/47/chapters/13A/.
17
Michael Sallah, Debra Cenziper, and Steven Rich, “Left with Nothing,” Washington Post, September 8, 2013, https://www.
washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2013/09/08/left-with-nothing/.
18
More information is available at https://www.neweconomynyc.org/2021/02/nyc-council-lays-groundwork-to-abolish-giuliani-
era-lien-sale/.
to balance the current tax sale system more toward supporting
people in maintaining ownership of their homes and providing
resources for homeowners who nd themselves struggling with
property taxes that they cannot afford.
Equally important, but also beyond the scope of this report, are
eliminating racial disparities in assessing property taxes, reducing
the reliance on property taxes to fund public services, revitalizing
properties in communities with the highest number of tax sale
evictions, and reducing the racial wealth gap to eliminate the
income disparities that underpin the key ndings of this report.
13
Eliminating the tax sale
There is a strong argument to be made for eliminating the tax sale
process entirely; at least one author has referred to the current
system as a “dignity taking” that historically has disproportionately
negatively impacted people and communities of color.
14
One alternative model, proposed by the Abolish the New York City
(NYC) Tax Lien Sale Coalition,
15
relies on the use of a Community
Land Trust (CLT) when property tax liens against properties are
not repaid. Under this proposal, for owner-occupied properties,
the CLT would make arrangements for residents who want to stay
in place and potentially preserve some equity. For rental housing,
commercial properties, and vacant lots, properties would be
transferred to a CLT that would determine the long-term ownership
structure in partnership with residents.
A more developed exploration of alternative systems would be a
worthwhile subject for a more in-depth report.
Reform the tax sales process
One reform to alleviate the harm caused by the current system to
homeowners would be exempting owner-occupied properties with
6 or fewer units from the current tax sale process when the amount
of past-due taxes is low and the homeowner lacks resources to pay
them.
Rather than subject these properties to the tax sale, unpaid property
taxes would be made a lien against the property with interest
accruing at a signicantly lower rate than what happens through the
tax sale process. In the short term, such a reform may impact some
income to taxing districts, but it would preserve household wealth.
Washington DC Model: Washington, DC implemented these types
of reforms in 2014 after the passage of the Residential Real Property
Equity and Transparency Amendment Act of 2013.
16
Though it does not eliminate the tax sale, the ordinance restricts
residential homes from being included in the local tax sale unless
the tax liability exceeds $2,500.
The ordinance addressed several problems with the preexisting
system. For example, in a case starting in 2006, a senior
homeowner, who was a veteran, owed $134 in property taxes.
17
The
homeowner paid $317 in past-due taxes, interest, and penalties.
Even so, the tax purchaser was still able to foreclose on the home
because of their legal fees and expenses—almost $5,000—for
which the homeowner was responsible. Under the 2013 ordinance,
a homeowner in this situation would not have been included in the
tax sale due to the low amount of taxes owed.
City of New York Model: In February 2021, the City of New York
passed an ordinance
18
raising the threshold for eligibility for their
version of the tax sale from $1,000 to $5,000. Supporters of the
ordinance report that the change will exempt more than half of one
to three family homes, condos, and co-ops that have been subject
to the tax sale process in past years. In addition, any owner of
a property with fewer than ten units who declares that they have
experienced nancial hardship due to COVID-19 will have their
property excluded from the tax sale.
In Illinois, by contrast, state law requires properties to be included
in the tax sale for any amount of property taxes owed. In addition,
state law does not allow for partial payments or payment plans.
Other Reforms
Other reforms would reduce the interest rate and fees that are part
of the tax sale process. For example, in 2020, state legislation was
proposed by the Cook County Treasurer to lower the interest rate
applied to taxes, special assessments, and other penalty costs owed
8
19
SB 2750, 101st General Assembly, (IL 2020). https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2750&GAID=15&
DocTypeID=SB&GA=101&SessionID=108.
20
SB 1721, 102nd General Assembly, (IL 2021). https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1721&GAID=16&
DocTypeID=SB&GA=&SessionID=110.
21
More information is available at https://www.cookcountytreasurer.com/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1497.
22
SB 2244, 102nd General Assembly, (IL 2021). https://ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=2244&GAID=16&GA=
102&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=134897&SessionID=110.
to the tax purchaser by the homeowner to 3% from the current
12%. However, the legislation was never called for a vote due to
opposition from interests who support the status quo.
19
Another reform would make data about tax purchasers more easily
available to better understand the companies active in the industry,
their revenue, and costs paid by homeowners. Lack of access to
this information makes it more challenging to critique the current
system and analyze the impact of potential reforms.
On a positive note, during the 2021 Illinois General Assembly
session, legislation was passed that reduces the maximum penalty
bids for the annual tax sale from 18% to 9%, reducing the cost of
redeeming property taxes that have been sold.
20
Provide resources for homeowners struggling to afford
property taxes
A number of other reforms could potentially be implemented more
immediately, including:
• Building on the current work of the Cook County Treasurer’s
Black and Brown Houses Matter
21
initiative. A key
component of the initiative is partnering with community-
based organizations in areas that are experiencing higher
rates of tax sales and delinquency to make sure that people
are claiming all of their exemptions and getting refunded
for overpayments, as well as translating website materials
into multiple languages.
• Expanding access to organizations like The Center for
Disability and Elder Law and other low-cost or free legal
resources. These organizations help vulnerable populations,
such as low-income seniors and people with disabilities,
to stay in their homes and preserve them as an asset and
resource to stave off crisis.
• Reinstating a new and improved “Circuit Breaker” Program,
which Illinois had between 1972 and 2012. This program
provided rebates to qualied seniors for rent, property
taxes, or nursing home charges, but was terminated due to
increasing costs and lack of funding.
• Expanding eligibility and use of unspent funds in the
Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral Program. This program,
with additional reforms, could help more seniors at risk
of losing their homes due to unpaid property taxes by
expanding eligibility for seniors to get a loan at a reasonable
rate from the State of Illinois to pay their property taxes.
This fund already exists and is currently underutilized by
homeowners. A state law making a temporary increase to
the amount of property taxes that can be deferred, as well
as income eligibility requirements, was signed into law in
2021.
22
• Connecting at-risk homeowners with HUD-approved
housing counseling agencies to explore appropriate
use of home equity loans and other credit products that
can sustainably keep people in their homes. Housing
counseling helps owners understand how to use these
products to maximize the equity built into their homes for
sustainable homeownership.
9
LEGEND
Number of Tax Sale Evictions
0
1–9
10–19
20–39
40–96
Percent of Population Identifying as Black
0%–9%
20%–29%
10%–19%
30%–39%
50%–59%
40%–49%
60%–69%
70%–79%
90%–99%
80%–89%
APPENDIX A
Tax Sale Evictions from Residential Properties in Cook County
Housing Action Illinois analyzed 1,429 tax sale evictions in Cook County between September 2010 and February 2020. The
map below illustrates the number of tax sale evictions and percentage of the population identifying as Black in each zip code.
10
Zip Code
Tax Sale
Evictions
Population
Total (all races) White Black / African American Hispanic / Latino (any race)
# % # % # %
60004 0 50,639 43,225 85% 913 2% 4,462 9%
60005 2 30,079 25,243 84% 1,107 4% 3,638 12%
60007 2 33,161 28,281 85% 833 3% 3,926 12%
60008 2 21,663 16,649 77% 1,164 5% 5,816 27%
60010 0 46,455 39,711 85% 647 1% 2,054 4%
60015 0 27,529 24,683 90% 399 1% 1,015 4%
60016 6 59,291 40,839 69% 2,566 4% 10,078 17%
60018 2 30,037 24,511 82% 866 3% 10,582 35%
60022 0 8,471 7,708 91% 301 4% 289 3%
60025 1 40,935 34,237 84% 750 2% 2,590 6%
60026 0 14,021 10,709 76% 199 1% 960 7%
60029 0 476 440 92% 8 2% 33 7%
60043 0 2,460 2,345 95% 13 1% 81 3%
60053 3 23,089 14,306 62% 624 3% 1,569 7%
60056 4 54,524 43,262 79% 2,080 4% 8,127 15%
60062 0 40,686 32,399 80% 1,064 3% 1,236 3%
60067 6 37,840 30,110 80% 1,029 3% 2,841 8%
60068 1 37,433 34,577 92% 449 1% 1,617 4%
60070 2 15,908 10,497 66% 336 2% 5,798 36%
60074 7 39,217 25,209 64% 1,771 5% 12,880 33%
60076 1 31,788 18,437 58% 3,161 10% 3,364 11%
60077 0 27,626 16,964 61% 2,435 9% 3,548 13%
60089 3 41,014 30,551 74% 937 2% 2,789 7%
60090 2 38,553 24,737 64% 1,312 3% 11,493 30%
60091 0 27,165 23,350 86% 314 1% 725 3%
60093 0 19,409 18,187 94% 87 0% 1,151 6%
60103 1 41,755 32,792 79% 1,028 2% 5,302 13%
60104 11 18,904 2,642 14% 14,315 76% 3,427 18%
60107 1 39,894 26,498 66% 1,992 5% 14,357 36%
60118 0 16,050 14,004 87% 287 2% 1,673 10%
60120 1 50,573 29,845 59% 3,209 6% 30,309 60%
60126 0 49,027 44,856 91% 746 2% 4,102 8%
60130 3 13,927 8,635 62% 4,289 31% 1,280 9%
60131 4 17,834 14,284 80% 130 1% 8,512 48%
60133 1 38,113 21,353 56% 3,636 10% 14,558 38%
60141 0 302 147 49% 150 50% 13 4%
60153 38 23,578 4,702 20% 16,343 69% 6,332 27%
60154 1 16,440 11,614 71% 3,209 20% 3,415 21%
60155 5 7,755 1,607 21% 6,067 78% 691 9%
60160 5 25,666 15,234 59% 1,834 7% 19,319 75%
60162 1 8,176 2,861 35% 3,508 43% 2,990 37%
60163 2 5,103 2,650 52% 1,480 29% 1,920 38%
60164 3 21,228 15,606 74% 730 3% 13,600 64%
60165 1 4,894 2,510 51% 135 3% 4,402 90%
60169 5 33,373 18,843 56% 2,308 7% 8,138 24%
60171 2 10,076 8,526 85% 167 2% 3,197 32%
60172 0 24,371 20,633 85% 1,211 5% 2,366 10%
60173 1 12,610 6,245 50% 508 4% 1,115 9%
60176 5 11,621 9,307 80% 259 2% 3,467 30%
60192 0 15,467 9,694 63% 570 4% 1,371 9%
60193 2 39,646 29,309 74% 1,463 4% 3,985 10%
60194 0 19,525 11,592 59% 1,102 6% 2,734 14%
60195 1 5,020 2,090 42% 501 10% 366 7%
60201 3 41,884 30,351 72% 6,001 14% 3,988 10%
60202 1 32,703 21,886 67% 7,527 23% 4,728 14%
60203 0 4,397 3,362 76% 539 12% 408 9%
60301 0 2,831 1,875 66% 535 19% 224 8%
60302 3 31,620 22,940 73% 7,036 22% 2,237 7%
APPENDIX B
Tax Sale Evictions in Cook County by Zip Code, September 2010–February 2020
11
Zip Code
Tax Sale
Evictions
Population
Total (all races) White Black / African American Hispanic / Latino (any race)
# % # % # %
60304 4 17,782 13,523 76% 3,220 18% 2,201 12%
60305 1 10,970 9,656 88% 732 7% 627 6%
60402 9 62,960 34,931 55% 4,601 7% 40,362 64%
60406 4 25,338 13,044 51% 8,502 34% 12,219 48%
60409 22 36,658 8,460 23% 27,382 75% 5,714 16%
60411 26 57,603 18,352 32% 31,292 54% 15,899 28%
60415 1 14,123 11,622 82% 1,621 11% 1,937 14%
60419 28 22,436 1,338 6% 21,185 94% 395 2%
60422 0 9,941 3,751 38% 5,973 60% 323 3%
60423 0 31,418 28,324 90% 1,955 6% 1,660 5%
60425 4 8,842 2,473 28% 6,507 74% 603 7%
60426 16 28,683 6,321 22% 20,211 70% 6,900 24%
60428 8 12,180 1,933 16% 9,630 79% 1,238 10%
60429 18 15,108 2,230 15% 12,689 84% 865 6%
60430 2 19,691 10,120 51% 9,022 46% 1,133 6%
60438 12 28,633 14,734 51% 12,682 44% 4,947 17%
60439 2 23,435 22,221 95% 271 1% 1,169 5%
60443 2 21,554 4,873 23% 16,257 75% 1,251 6%
60445 5 25,810 21,909 85% 2,466 10% 4,738 18%
60452 3 28,008 23,616 84% 1,939 7% 4,261 15%
60453 3 55,966 46,441 83% 4,143 7% 12,321 22%
60455 2 16,144 13,807 86% 754 5% 3,675 23%
60456 0 4,272 4,067 95% 142 3% 1,120 26%
60457 1 13,816 12,886 93% 646 5% 2,472 18%
60458 1 15,197 11,288 74% 3,126 21% 3,482 23%
60459 1 28,709 24,343 85% 1,182 4% 9,710 34%
60461 1 4,716 1,101 23% 3,655 78% 0 0%
60462 1 39,784 35,701 90% 2,264 6% 3,150 8%
60463 0 14,798 14,036 95% 296 2% 869 6%
60464 0 9,662 9,020 93% 272 3% 589 6%
60465 0 17,345 15,847 91% 1,140 7% 1,770 10%
60466 11 21,909 6,302 29% 15,036 69% 1,085 5%
60467 2 26,861 23,868 89% 544 2% 1,961 7%
60469 2 5,795 4,007 69% 1,203 21% 3,183 55%
60471 6 13,917 1,511 11% 12,304 88% 376 3%
60472 4 4,904 577 12% 4,348 89% 424 9%
60473 8 22,088 3,296 15% 18,388 83% 1,027 5%
60475 2 9,664 7,029 73% 2,004 21% 1,698 18%
60476 0 2,550 1,953 77% 491 19% 355 14%
60477 4 37,542 33,074 88% 2,175 6% 4,011 11%
60478 11 16,769 1,294 8% 15,161 90% 621 4%
60480 1 5,151 4,758 92% 167 3% 782 15%
60482 3 10,849 9,828 91% 401 4% 1,288 12%
60484 0 6,423 854 13% 5,763 90% 283 4%
60487 0 26,736 23,116 86% 1,165 4% 2,235 8%
60501 9 11,874 7,582 64% 903 8% 8,608 72%
60513 2 18,753 16,397 87% 1,113 6% 4,286 23%
60521 0 18,415 16,042 87% 288 2% 679 4%
60523 0 10,081 6,804 67% 386 4% 327 3%
60525 1 30,474 27,875 91% 1,673 5% 4,057 13%
60526 0 13,451 12,266 91% 576 4% 1,395 10%
60527 1 28,534 21,211 74% 2,468 9% 2,099 7%
60534 2 10,452 8,555 82% 728 7% 5,418 52%
60546 4 15,405 13,029 85% 637 4% 3,319 22%
60558 0 13,272 12,952 98% 163 1% 656 5%
60601 1 15,083 11,427 76% 745 5% 1,224 8%
60602 0 1,145 775 68% 68 6% 74 6%
60603 0 1,052 674 64% 47 4% 34 3%
60604 0 823 542 66% 51 6% 28 3%
60605 2 29,060 19,347 67% 5,065 17% 2,185 8%
60606 0 3,287 2,437 74% 99 3% 188 6%
Tax Sale Evictions in Cook County by Zip Code, September 2010–February 2020 (continued)
12
Zip Code
Tax Sale
Evictions
Population
Total (all races) White Black / African American Hispanic / Latino (any race)
# % # % # %
60607 1 29,293 18,222 62% 4,761 16% 2,151 7%
60608 13 80,059 37,619 47% 14,077 18% 38,984 49%
60609 47 60,939 28,072 46% 15,720 26% 32,291 53%
60610 1 40,548 30,420 75% 6,531 16% 2,526 6%
60611 2 33,224 25,589 77% 1,108 3% 1,573 5%
60612 13 33,735 10,668 32% 20,686 61% 4,056 12%
60613 2 50,761 43,257 85% 3,406 7% 5,645 11%
60614 0 71,954 62,452 87% 3,603 5% 4,438 6%
60615 15 40,590 14,001 34% 23,294 57% 2,220 5%
60616 3 54,197 17,821 33% 13,417 25% 4,569 8%
60617 76 83,553 31,383 38% 48,296 58% 31,048 37%
60618 7 94,907 75,895 80% 3,986 4% 38,208 40%
60619 80 61,207 1,750 3% 59,472 97% 804 1%
60620 62 67,711 1,707 3% 65,263 96% 1,246 2%
60621 38 28,018 774 3% 26,765 96% 891 3%
60622 3 53,294 44,380 83% 4,026 8% 12,207 23%
60623 96 81,283 31,562 39% 25,170 31% 54,297 67%
60624 43 34,892 1,837 5% 32,039 92% 1,773 5%
60625 4 79,444 55,346 70% 5,394 7% 25,483 32%
60626 3 50,544 30,333 60% 14,687 29% 9,906 20%
60628 89 64,254 3,627 6% 60,475 94% 2,267 4%
60629 18 110,029 49,774 45% 22,713 21% 78,826 72%
60630 6 56,433 42,378 75% 1,775 3% 16,066 28%
60631 1 29,529 26,850 91% 491 2% 3,500 12%
60632 11 89,857 48,639 54% 2,308 3% 74,575 83%
60633 4 12,689 8,869 70% 3,014 24% 6,038 48%
60634 4 75,082 59,452 79% 2,016 3% 28,812 38%
60636 49 30,024 1,985 7% 26,768 89% 2,823 9%
60637 31 47,300 8,593 18% 36,347 77% 1,543 3%
60638 3 58,669 45,453 77% 2,801 5% 29,543 50%
60639 16 88,204 42,999 49% 12,961 15% 68,792 78%
60640 4 69,363 47,046 68% 12,403 18% 9,772 14%
60641 4 69,880 49,663 71% 2,693 4% 38,120 55%
60642 0 19,716 15,330 78% 2,217 11% 3,202 16%
60643 43 48,887 12,497 26% 36,727 75% 1,509 3%
60644 51 46,591 3,099 7% 41,667 89% 3,194 7%
60645 10 47,270 27,598 58% 8,089 17% 8,312 18%
60646 1 28,569 24,724 87% 442 2% 4,300 15%
60647 6 87,633 71,111 81% 6,565 7% 37,622 43%
60649 40 46,633 2,225 5% 44,195 95% 1,189 3%
60651 38 63,492 14,061 22% 33,466 53% 27,245 43%
60652 8 43,447 13,742 32% 20,814 48% 18,027 41%
60653 8 33,154 2,461 7% 30,148 91% 913 3%
60654 0 20,022 15,770 79% 1,146 6% 1,156 6%
60655 0 28,569 25,887 91% 2,047 7% 2,586 9%
60656 5 28,218 24,300 86% 485 2% 3,768 13%
60657 1 70,958 62,976 89% 2,799 4% 5,385 8%
60659 6 42,735 24,500 57% 4,004 9% 8,873 21%
60660 2 44,498 30,535 69% 6,539 15% 7,614 17%
60661 0 10,354 6,874 66% 531 5% 641 6%
60706 0 23,114 20,864 90% 253 1% 2,476 11%
60707 4 43,093 32,147 75% 3,551 8% 16,862 39%
60712 0 12,434 8,619 69% 263 2% 1,185 10%
60714 0 29,520 21,927 74% 1,024 3% 2,644 9%
60803 5 22,405 15,943 71% 4,742 21% 5,412 24%
60804 25 82,383 28,844 35% 3,006 4% 73,846 90%
60805 4 19,479 13,369 69% 5,383 28% 2,700 14%
60827 25 28,483 2,375 8% 25,950 91% 1,486 5%
TOTAL 1,429
See Sources and Notes on Page 3 for more information on this data.
Tax Sale Evictions in Cook County by Zip Code, September 2010–February 2020 (continued)
13
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
“8 Important Facts About Tax Lien Certicates and Tax Lien Properties You
Must Know.” United States Tax Lien Association. Accessed December 9,
2020. https://ustaxlienassociation.com/tax-lien-investing/.
American Bar Association. “Tax Lien Sales Put Low-Income, Seniors, and the
Disabled at Risk of Foreclosure.” Bifocal 33, no. 1 (September-October
2011). https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_aging/publications/
bifocal/vol_33/issue_1_oct2011/tax_lien_sales_putlow-incomesenio
rsandthedisabledatriskofforeclo/.
Asante-Muhammad, Dedrick. The Racial Wealth Divide in Chicago. Prosperity
Now, 2017. https://prosperitynow.org/sites/default/les/PDFs/proles/
Racial_Wealth_Divide_in_Chicago_RWDI.pdf.
Bhutta, Neil, Andrew C. Chang, Lisa J. Dettling, and Joanne W. Hsu.
“Disparities in Wealth by Race and Ethnicity in the 2019 Survey of
Consumer Finances.” FEDS Notes. Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, September 28, 2020. https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-
7172.2797.
Brown, Steven. “The Stalled, Struggling Black Middle Class.” Urban Wire |
Race and Ethnicity (blog). Urban Institute, February 9, 2016. https://
www.urban.org/urban-wire/stalled-struggling-black-middle-class.
“Buying Illinois Tax Liens.” Ted Thomas America’s Tax Lien Certicate & Tax
Deed Authority. Accessed December 9, 2020. https://tedthomas.com/
buying-illinois-tax-liens/.
Capps, Kriston. “How the ‘Black Tax’ Destroyed African-American
Homeownership in Chicago.” Bloomberg CityLab, June 11, 2015. https://
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-11/how-predatory-tax-
lien-sales-destroyed-homeownership-for-african-americans-in-chicago.
Chatman, Samantha. “Cook Co. Treasurer Wants to Help Black Homeowners
Who Could Lose Houses to Unpaid Property Taxes.” ABC 7 Eye Witness
News, October 9, 2020. https://abc7chicago.com/cook-county-property-
taxes-tax-illinois-treasurer/6878804/.
Cheung, Ariel. “Unclaimed Property Tax Refunds in Cook County Could
Mean You Are Owed Hundreds. Here’s How to Check.” Chicago
Tribune, January 25, 2021. https://www.chicagotribune.com/real-
estate/ct-re-property-tax-black-houses-matter-englewood-20210125-
2kaxj7o5gjgntmqi5qt4on2hu4-story.html.
Cook County Clerk. A Guide to the Tax Redemption Process: What Happens
When You Don’t Pay Your Property Taxes. Chicago, IL: Cook County Clerk,
2019, https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/sites/default/les/pdfs/
Brochure%20-%20Tax%20Redemption%20Process%20-%202019.pdf
(accessed October 10, 2020).
DeMatteo, Megan. “How This Entrepreneur Is Working to Help Black
Women Build Generational Wealth through Homeownership.” CNBC,
updated November 25, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/select/what-is-
generational-wealth/.
Grotto, Jason. “An Unfair Burden.” Chicago Tribune, June 10, 2017. http://
apps.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/cook-county-property-tax-
divide/assessments.html.
Kahrl, Andrew W. “Capitalizing on the Urban Fiscal Crisis: Predatory Tax
Buyers in 1970s Chicago.” Journal of Urban History 44, no. 3 (May
2018): 382–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144215586385.
“Lawsuit Targets Illegal Property Tax Burden on Communities of Color.”
The Chicago Community Trust. February 20, 2018. https://www.
cct.org/2018/02/lawsuit-targets-illegal-property-tax-burden-on-
communities-of-color/.
Lerner, Michele. “One Home, a Lifetime of Impact.” Washington Post, July
23, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/23/
black-homeownership-gap/.
Lutton, Linda. “What Does It Feel Like To Be Middle Class? That Depends
On Your Race, Researchers Say.” WBEZ Chicago, Feb. 24, 2021. https://
www.wbez.org/stories/what-does-it-feel-like-to-be-middle-class-that-
depends-on-your-race-researchers-say/516f9472-1054-4398-acc6-
da2c86034619.
Lutton, Linda, Andrew Fan, and Alden Loury. “Where Banks Don’t Lend.”
WBEZ Chicago and City Bureau, June 3, 2020. https://interactive.wbez.
org/2020/banking/disparity/.
Marks Jarvis, Gail. “Chicago’s Racial Wealth Gap Far Worse than US Average,
Report Finds.” Chicago Tribune, January 31, 2017. https://www.
chicagotribune.com/business/ct-chicago-racial-wealth-divide-0131-
20170130-story.html.
Perry, Andre M., Jonathan Rothwell, and David Harshbarger. The Devaluation
of Assets in Black Neighborhoods: The Case of Residential Property.
Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program | Gallup: 2018. https://www.
brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018.11_Brookings-
Metro_Devaluation-Assets-Black-Neighborhoods_nal.pdf.
“RAGE Presents – “Black Houses Matter” with Cook County Treasurer,
Maria Pappas – 1/19/21!” R.A.G.E. Resident Association of Greater
Englewood. January 12, 2021. https://ragenglewood.org/2021/01/12/
rage-presents-black-houses-matter-with-cook-county-treasurer-maria-
pappas-1-19-21/.
Toussaint-Comeau, Maude, and Robin Newberger. “Preserving Chicago’s
Minority Middle Neighborhoods.” ProtWise News and Views, July
2020. https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/protwise-news-and-
views/2020/preserving-chicagos-minority-middle-neighborhoods.
Van Dam, Andrew. “Black Families Pay Signicantly Higher Property Taxes
than White Families, New Analysis Shows.” Washington Post, July 2,
2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/02/black-
property-tax/.
Yousef, Odette. “Cook County Makes Millions By Selling Property Tax Debt —
But At What Cost?” WBEZ Chicago, May 3, 2019. https://www.wbez.org/
stories/cook-county-makes-millions-by-selling-property-tax-debt-but-
at-what-cost/69272607-aa91-4d1b-abfa-1aef57ea0a33.
14
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Bob Palmer, Policy Director, at [email protected] or 312-939-6075
Sheila Sutton, Housing Policy Organizer, at [email protected] or 312-854-3016