Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 1
2022
COOK COUNTY
BOARD OF REVIEW
Commissioner Larry R. Rogers, Jr.
Commissioner Tammy Wendt
Commissioner Michael M. Cabonargi
ANNUAL REPORT
ASSESSMENT YEAR 2021
FISCAL YEAR 2022
AN INDEPENDENT OFFICE
PROVIDING FAIRNESS
FOR
COOK COUNTY PROPERTY TAXPAYERS
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 2
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Chicago
Orland Park
Palatine
Glenview
Schaumburg
Skokie
Alsip
Des Plaines
Niles
Northbrook
Barrington Hills
Tinley Park
Hoffman Estates
Elgin
Matteson
Arlington Heights
Lansing
Wheeling
Cicero
Lemont
Oak Lawn
Harvey
Evanston
Dolton
Inverness
Elk Grove Village
Park Ridge
Chicago Heights
Bartlett
Streamwood
Wilmette
Markham
Calumet City
Lynwood
South Holland
Oak Forest
Burbank
Homewood
Glencoe
Hillside
Winnetka
Palos Hills
Riverdale
Worth
Morton Grove
Justice
Lyons
Northfield
Bedford Park
Steger
Mc Cook
Summit
Barrington
Bellwood
Lincolnwood
Burnham
Mount Prospect
Berwyn
Oak Park
South Barrington
Franklin Park
Bridgeview
Blue Island
Flossmoor
Rolling Meadows
Park Forest
Northlake
Melrose Park
Glenwood
Sauk Village
Richton Park
Westchester
Brookfield
Palos Heights
Crestwood
Midlothian
Hazel Crest
Country Club Hills
Maywood
Willow Springs
Hodgkins
Thornton
Prospect Heights
Burr Ridge
Countryside
Stickney
La Grange
Hickory Hills
Palos Park
Riverside
Forest Park
Schiller Park
Evergreen Park
Norridge
River Forest
Olympia Fields
River Grove
Hanover Park
Posen
Rosemont
Broadview
Western Springs
Robbins
Buffalo Grove
Chicago Ridge
Berkeley
Ford Heights
La Grange Park
Dixmoor
Elmwood Park
North Riverside
Golf
Roselle
Orland Hills
Calumet Park
South Chicago Heights
Hinsdale
Forest View
Deerfield
Kenilworth
Indian Head Park
Phoenix
Harwood Heights
East Hazel Crest
Hometown
Stone Park
Frankfort
Merrionette Park
East Dundee
Bensenville
University Park
Elmhurst
Deer Park
Oak Brook
Homer Glen
Cicero
Harlem
Tri-State
95th
87th
Golf
Archer
Sauk
1st
Kedzie
159th
Wolf
167th
Rand
Touhy
I 290
Northwest
Oakton
Edens
Ogden
Milwaukee
Higgins
Torrence
La Grange
Palatine
111th
127th
Western
Kennedy
Euclid
Devon
Dixie
Roosevelt
103rd
135th
Lake Cook
147th
Ela
Cermak
Irving Park
Ashland
47th
Leg Dan Ryan
25th
5th
Eisenhower
Lake Shore
Elston
Roselle
143rd
Willow
31st
Mannheim
Lake
175th
Dan Ryan
River
104th
Adlai Stevenson
Bartlett
Dempster
Joliet
C
entral
183rd
Barrington
Halsted
Sheridan
Moline
Foster
80th
115th
Waukegan
Vollmer
Chicago
State
Michigan
55th
123rd
Bishop Ford
Lee
231st
Calumet
Hintz
Sibley
108th
Joe Orr
107th
Wood
Main
Schaumburg
Bell
Ridgeland
Bode
Penny
Roberts
88th
Grand
Skokie
Pulaski
Otis
Quentin
84th
26th
94th
California
Glenview
Oak Park
Arlington Heights
Meacham
Talcott
170th
Church
63rd
17th
138th
Washington
130th
119th
Lincoln
179th
Addison
Sanders
Morgan
Pratt
Techny
Busse
Pfin
gsten
Wise
76th
Flossmoor
Will Cook
Caldwell
Sutton
162nd
86th
Steger
Elmhurst
Peterson
Garfield
Nerge
Hibbard
Wentworth
Shermer
Cottage Grove
Cumberland
Tower
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr
Wilke
Stony Island
Hill
Diversey
82nd
Nagle
Clybourn
Bateman
Ridge
Kingery
Kensington
Augusta
Mc Cormick
Lawrence
Belmont
College
Shoe Factory
Dundee
Southwest
Edens Expy
Montrose
Landwehr
New
West
Ballard
Walters
79th
Pershing
Franklin
Colfax
South Chicago
Howar
d
Lehigh
Asbury
Jackson
Il 171
Crawford
Calumet Sag
100th
106th
Plainfield
North
Midlothian
Des Plaines River
Wagner
Green Bay
Glenwood-Dyer
Hicks
Summit
La Salle
Sunset Ridge
Brainard
Taft
Canal
Hawthorne
Schoenbeck
139th
Bradwell
Gifford
Columbus
Greenwood
Harms
Winnetka
142nd
River Oaks
Plum Grove
Us 20
Landmeier
171st
65th
Old Sutton
Vincennes
Center
Drexel
Happ
Jeffery
51st
Burnham
Dolton
Canfield
I 57
Thacker
151st
Cork
Donlea
South Shore
131st
I
90
Ewing
Cornell
Freeman
Smith
West Lake
Walker
91st
Randolph
Rogers
Kimball
Avondale
Park
Congdon
Kean
Clark
County Line
Algonquin
Fullerton
German Church
Huntington
Weber
Rohlwing
Riegel
Elgin
39th
Harts
Noble
150th
Indiana
Oakwood
Springinsguth
Broadway
177th
Narragansett
South
North
Hicks
Ela
Central
Lincoln
47th
Lincoln
115th
Lincoln
Ridgeland
State
127th
Wolf
Ashland
Central
Central
Dempster
Kedzie
111th
135th
Southwest
Busse
Stony Island
Chicago
Ke
dzie
Central
Central
Central
Sutton
Archer
West Lake
Cermak
Augusta
Dundee
Crawford
State
Wolf
Pershing
Grand
Algonquin
80th
Wolf
Addison
Central
123rd
31st
Chicago
Halsted
Western
151st
26th
Ridgeland
Lehigh
79th
Higgins
Ashland
Lincoln
Kean
183rd
Skokie
Burnham
151st
Northwest
Devon
Higgins
231st
Tri-State
115th
Golf
Pulaski
Lawrence
Grand
76th
Steger
Central
River
Lake
131st
131st
Wolf
Foster
Elmhurst
Irving Park
State
Sheridan
State
Plum Grove
Western
104t
h
Main
Crawford
Lake
Bartlett
Central
State
103rd
Board of Review Districts 2012
Cook County, IL
1 - Dan Patlak
2 - Michael Cabonargi
3 - Larry R. Rogers, Jr.
BOARD OF REVIEW DISTRICTS
COOK COUNTY, IL
BOARD OF REVIEW DISTRICTS
COOK COUNTY, IL
Tammy Wendt
Michael Cabonargi
Larry R. Rogers, Jr.
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Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COOK COUNTY
BOARD OF REVIEW
RESPONSIBILITIES
OFFICE
WHY DOES IT
MATTER TO COOK
COUNTY RESIDENTS
IF THE TAX BILLS GO
OUT ON TIME?
COOK COUNTY BOARD OF REVIEW
RESPONSIBILITIES
LETTER FROM COOK COUNTY
BOARD OF REVIEW
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROCESSING
SYSTEM
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
EMPLOYEES AND APPEALS
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
APPEALS RESULTING IN REDUCTIONS
ASSESSMENT YEARS 2008 2021
PTAB APPEALS
EXEMPT PROPERTIES AND THE BOR
2021 TAX YEAR OUTREACH EFFORTS
When the tax bills are delayed, schools, libraries
and other essential district services are forced into
budget gaps. To fill those gaps, reserves may be
tapped, which means that money is not earning
interest, or, money is borrowed, and loan costs
and interest fees are incurred at the cost of the
taxpayer. The cost to local government can be in
the MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
The Cook County Board of Review (formerly the Board of Tax Appeals)
was created by the 89th General Assembly in 1998 under statutory
changes that established a three-member Board of Commissioners
elected from three electoral districts.
The Cook County Board of Review (hereinafter “BOR”) is vested
with quasi-judicial power to adjudicate taxpayer complaints and
recommend exempt status of real property, which includes residential,
commercial, industrial, condominium property, and vacant land.
Responsibilities of the BOR include the following:
1. Order the Assessor to revise and correct the assessed
value of property;
2. Review Certificates of Error;
3. Correct factual mistakes;
4. Recommend property for tax exempt status; and
5. Defend assessment decisions for properties appealed at
the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB).
The BOR deals only with assessed valuations before equalization, not
with the tax rate or the amount of the tax bill.
County Building
118 N. Clark St., Room 601
Chicago, IL 60602
Ph: 312/603-5542
www.cookcountyboardofreview.com
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Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 4
Your Cook County Board of Review Continues to Rise to the Challenge
The 2021 Assessment appeal year was one of the most challenging in the history of the Board of Review. The Board
of Review received the first re-assessed townships in February 2022, seven months late, from the Cook County
Assessor’s Oce. To mitigate the detrimental impact this delay would have on taxpayers, our oce maximized
eciency and our sta worked 22,974 overtime hours to allow tax bills to be payable before the year end. This “all
hands-on deck” approach is demonstrative of the Board of Review’s commitment to ensuring that taxpayers have an
opportunity to have their appeals heard so that the Assessor’s errors can be corrected. This ensures that taxpayers
pay no more than their fair share of property taxes and allows taxpayers to avail themselves of mortgage interest
deduction tax advantages.
We continued to support that mission by conducting over 150 community outreach seminars countywide. At these
outreach seminars the Board of Review brought its services directly into communities to educate property owners
on the property tax system and how to ensure when taxpayers appealed, Assessor errors could be corrected before
tax bills were issued. Also, while our analysts were working overtime on Board of Review appeals, the Property
Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) appeals continued to send prior year files for the Board of Review to defend before its
agency. Fortunately, under the leadership of the Commissioners, the Board’s PTAB Defense Unit – created in 2017
– continued to defend the budgets of school districts and other local taxing bodies from unnecessary refunds.
This PTAB Defense Unit consists of dedicated sta assigned to prepare evidence and represent the county at PTAB
hearings where taxpayers who overpaid property taxes based upon Assessor errors in their assessments, seek
refunds from the county and other taxing districts. With a half billion dollars of refunds requested through appeals
at PTAB, preparing evidence and representing the taxing districts at PTAB for those cases is a major responsibility of
the Board of Review. Eliminating or mitigating exposure through reduced refunds at PTAB has a large impact on the
budgets of all the taxing districts in Cook County, including the County’s budget itself. The taxpayers of every school
district, city, and the whole County benefit from these savings and the Board’s PTAB defense work.
The Commissioners are pleased to report the Board of Review finished adjudicating 248,899 appeals. Once again,
in anticipation that our appeal volume would rise due to increased assessments across the County, we opened the
Board on July 6, 2021. Opening the Board earlier allows us the additional time needed to do our part to get tax bills
out on time. Unfortunately, because the Assessor’s Oce was late certifying townships and transferring them to our
oce, the Board was not able to begin its work until February 2022 due to data integrity issues from the Assessor’s
December 2021 township transmittal. Most significantly, the Board received 71% of its work from March 24, 2022, to
April 23, 2022. The Assessor’s delay in the transmission of townships to the Board coupled with the Board receiving
71% of the volume between March and April 2022 placed immense pressure on the Board of Review and other
property tax stakeholders. However, the Board fulfilled its commitment to use all resources to complete its work
and successfully finished its session at the beginning of October. It is important to note the dedication of the sta
at the Board of Review. To achieve the October completion, many sta members were working seven days/ fifty-
sixty hours a week to ensure the Board was successful and tax bill were payable in 2022. We cannot thank the sta
enough for the dedication, professionalism, and sacrifice they showed to get the job done in the most challenging
circumstances.
Summary
Every session brings dierent challenges. However, despite these challenges, the Board was able to complete its session by late April for the prior
decade to ensure tax bills were payable by August 1st. However, under this Assessor, this 2021 session brought unique challenges due to the Cook
County Assessor’s failure to timely transmit townships to the Board of Review and the unsupported exponential increases in values of residential
and commercial properties. By receiving the initial townships five months late and then having data integrity delays, the Board of Review began this
session under the most challenging circumstances. In spite of the Assessor’s failure to timely complete his assessments of Cook County properties
and transmit townships those assessments to the Board of Review, the Commissioners and sta were committed to complete our work and ensure
that the property tax bill delay caused by the Assessor did not ultimately impact taxpayers beyond their property tax liability. We achieved our goal
and successfully completed the session while defending PTAB and executing our other duties.
2021 ASSESSMENT YEAR ANNUAL
REPORT LETTER FROM COMMISSIONERS
TAMMY WENDT
COMMISSIONER
LARRY
ROGERS JR.
COMMISSIONER
MICHAEL
CABONARGI
COMMISSIONER
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 5
• The Assessor failed to implement its “future state” Tyler modules in “parallel” with the fully functioning “legacy” Cook County Property Tax
mainframe as required by the 2015 Tyler contract
1
, recommended by Cook County Bureau of Technology
2
and contrary to industry “best practices.”
• The Cook County Assessor failed to initially transmit “Building Permit” assessment data for 20 of the 38 townships after certifying and
transmitting the data to the Cook County Board of Review. This failure to transmit the bulding permit data directly impacted key
characteristics of properties, such as the age and size of many residential improvements situated in Cook County.
• The Cook County Assessor changed “detail” data of parcels after it no longer posessed jurisdiction over parcels and had already certified and
transmitted the townships to the Cook County Board of Review. The changes made to the data by the Cook County Assessor after it no longer
possesses jurisdiction, included “occupancy” factors, “building permit” data and related characteristics data. Per statute, if the Cook County
Assessor discovers a “mistake” or “error” other than a “mistake or error of judgment post certification and transmission of the assessment roll
data to the Cook County Board of Review, the only remedy available to the Cook County Assessor is the “Certificate of Correction.” See 35 ILCS
200/14-10 (2022). In addition, “an internal Cook County Assessor policy document described the justification for a “Certificate of Correction”
as to correct “an error due to keypunch, or factual error, and the B/R is still open for that specific town, a Certificate of Correction can be used
to correct the problem even if an appeal has not been filed at the Board.”
3
• The noted “detail data” issues plagued the entire Cook County Board of Review 2021 tax session due to the obvious uncertainty and lack of
confidence in the accuracy of the Cook County Assessor data which directly impacted the Cook County Board of Review’s valuation processes.
Also, on occasion, the data would change in between the first and second reviews of the file causing the entire file to need to be reset to achieve
consistent data for all analysts to use on any given property.
THE COOK COUNTY ASSESSOR’S
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TYLER
PROJECT DELAYED THE 2021 TAX YEAR
2ND INSTALLMENT TAX BILLS
The Cook County Boar
d of Review opened the 2021 tax year Appeal session on July 6, 2021. Unfortunately, because the Assessor had not
completed and transmitted his assessment of any Cook County properties until December 2021 and the 1st City of Chicago township until February
2022, there was an unprecedented delay which drastically affected the schedule for all property tax stakeholders. The Assessor’s delay resulted in
the Cook County Board of Review not finalizing its work until 466 days later on or about October 9, 2022. During the 2021 Session, the Cook County
Board of Review adjudicated 248,899 complaints that comprised 537,618 parcels (“PINs”), all of which alleged errors in the assessment of their
properties. The 2021 tax year session included a 12% increase in Commercial complaints when compared to the last reassessment of the City of
Chicago for the 2018 tax year. The unsupported substantial increases in Commercial/Industrial assessments by the Assessor, (particularly, during a
global pandemic) that ranged from 33% in Hyde Park township to 115% in West Chicago township this significant increase and nearly 9,000 hearing
requests for reassessed City of Chicago properties. However, the fact that the 2021 session spanned 466 days can be traced back to the Assessor’s
decision not to implement its Tyler application pursuant to the 2015 IPTS contract, recommendation of the Bureau of Technology, and industry
“best practices.” 2021 implementation of its Tyler application caused significant data integration and integrity issues for the Board due to its
dependency on Assessor assessment roll data. Despite the Board’s July 6, 2021, opening, it did not receive the first townships from the Assessor
until December 2021 and due to the aforementioned data integrity issue, analytical work did not commence until February of 2022. The first
hearings began March 21, 2022. In addition, from March 24th to April 23rd , the Assessor transmitted 1,323,581 of the total 1.863,980 parcels
situated in Cook County or 71% of the Board’s total workload. Thus, backloading the Board ‘s schedule with the highest number of parcels, as well
as, presenting the Board with the City reassessment and its complex valuation issues.
It is important to note that the delayed finalization of the Board’s 2021 tax year session, caused by the Assessor’s failure to timely transmit townships
to the Board, also delayed the timely distribution of over $16 billion in real estate tax revenue to Cook County cities, towns, villages as well as
fire, police, library and school districts. Another impact of the Assessor’s delay was that some taxing bodies were forced to seek “tax anticipation
notes.” In addition, a number of taxing bodies have bond payments due December 2022; therefore, without distribution in December, the noted
payments would potentially be “late.” Also, this ‘timeliness” issue presented a critical potential federal income tax issue for all Cook County residents.
Specifically, if the 2021 tax bills are not paid in the 2022 calendar year, taxpayers could forfeit taking a deduction for their federal income tax filings
for “settled” state and local taxes, costing residents thousands of dollars in deductions.
Causes for and the Impact of the Delayed 2021 2nd Installment Tax Bill
1
2015 Cook County Bureau of Technology and Tyler Technologies, inc. (Contract No. 1490-13787)(4.11 “Go-Live and Rollout Support.”)
2
Finance and Technology and Innovation Committees Joint Meeting, April 25, 2022.
3
Oce of the Independent Inspector General, Quarterly Report, 3rd Quarter 2022 (October 14, 2022).
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 6
• The PTAB and Circuit Court refund exposure will directly increase due to the delayed distribution of over $16 billion in real estate tax revenue,
the additional stang resources demanded of all members of the Cook County Property Tax Group (Cook County Assessor, Cook County
Board of Review, Clerk and Treasurer) and Cook County Bureau of Technology which also includes overtime compensation, the probable
increased Cook County Board of Review “error rate” due to the expedited and compressed 2021 schedule and combined with the substantial
2021 Cook County Assessor.
• For City of Chicago condominium properties, the Cook County Assessor failed to comply with the Illinois Condominium Property Act which
requires the Cook County Assessor to assess condominiums while applying the “owner’s corresponding percentage of ownership in the
common elements as a tract, and not upon the property as a whole.” (765 ILCS 605/10a)(2022). The Cook County Assessor’s failure to
comply with the Illinois Condominium Property Act directly resulted in inconsistent underlying market values or “reproduction cost” values
when, per the “Condo Act,” there should be one (“1) underlying market for the entire building with each individual unit prorated or assessed per
its ownership interest.
» In some instances, it appears that the percentage of interest (POI) values, as established in the subject’s Condo Declaration, were not used
to allocate the fair market value (FMV) when tcondominiums were re-assessed.
» The reproduction cost issue presented significant valuation issues at the Cook County Board of Review which included forcing condo
analysts to manually enter reproduction costs line by line for multiple PIN condo complaints which can range from 6 to over 1,000 lines.
This additional manual work directly impacted Condo analysis workflow.
» The Cook County Board of Review addressed the reproduction cost issue by continuing to apply its historical valuation methodology for
residential condominiums based on recent sales and their corresponding POI in the building when establishing the overall FMV.
» In addition, in the interest of equity and to ensure the accurate allocation of the FMV for the subject, the Cook County Board of Review also
continued its practice of using the POI for each unit as established by the subject’s Condo Declaration.
» Due to theoccasional varying Reproduction Costs found in the same building, the Cook County Board of Review’s methodology of relying
on the POI when allocating the FMV may have resulted in assessment decreases for some units and assessment increases for other units
within the subject building while maintaining the underlying FMV.
» To ensure the equitable allocation of the FMV, and not compound the Reproduction Cost errorscaused by the Cook County Assessor,
the Cook County Board of Review may have issued increases, when deemed appropriate, to accurately allocate the FMV throughout the
building based on the per unit POI as established in the Condo Declaration.
› This enabled the Cook County Board of Review to reach its two primary goals when valuing condominiums;
› Established an accurate overall FMV with a singular reproduction cost for the entire condominium building; and
› Equitably allocated that FMV for the subject based on individual unit’s percentage of interest as established in the Condo Declaration.
» Cook County Board of Review Reproduction Cost “Repro” Condo Tool
› In addition, the Cook County Board of Review committed considerable IT, Administrative, and Analytical resources to develop, test, and
implement a valuation application to assist the Cook County Board of Review to fairly and accurately value Condo properties based on
the sales evidence and more importantly, pursuant to the Condo Act.
› This Excel based application considers a “Target Market” value determined by the analyst based on the sales approach. The “Target
Market Value,” determines whether the individual “reproduction costs” are either a “decrease” or “increase.”
• Backloading of the Cook County Board of Review Schedule
» The Cook County Assessor transmitted 71% of the parcel volume to the Cook County Board of Review from March 24th to April 23rd
2022. See Cook County Assessor 2021 Tax Year Publication Dates Townships (18) and related Parcel volume (1,323,581) (71% of all Cook
County parcels) (1,863,980))
› In sum, in a 30-day time span, the Cook County
Board of Review assumed jurisdiction over 71% of all
parcels situated in Cook County.
» The Re-assessment of the City of Chicago represented
over 52% of the 1.8M plus parcels located in Cook
County.
› Seven (7) City Triennial Townships represented
858,884 total parcels.
2021 CCAO Filing Volume versus 2021 CCBOR Filing Volume
Group 1
5,868 vs 8,541 (+46%)
Group 2 2,437 vs 4,423 (+81%)
Group 3 11,592 vs 18,787 (+62%)
Group 4 23,273 vs 26,977 (+16%)
Group 5 9,490 vs 16,480 (+71%)
Group 6 6,510 vs 10,937 (+67.5%)
Group 7 18,683 vs 27,170 (+45%)
Group 8 26,967 vs 40,175 (+49%)
Group 9 24,123 vs 39,772 (+64%)
Group 10 40,512 vs 55,147 (+36%)
TOTAL 169,455 vs 248,899 (+47%)
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 7
THE COOK COUNTY BOARD OF
REVIEW’S ROLE IN THE IPTS PROJECT
Background
The 2015 assessment appeal year (2015-16) marked the culmination of four (4) years of preparation a re-engineering of the Cook County Board
of Review’s (hereinafter “Board”) operations from a 100% paper-based process to a 100% digital workflow. Against the background of significant
increases in appeals volume, the 2015 session marked a monumental advance in eciency at the Board, leading the way in County government
with the launch its “enterprise content management” (“ECM”) application, Digital Appeals Processing System (hereinafter “DAPS”) which leverages
OnBase software. It should be noted that the Board went live with DAPS during the reassessment of the City of Chicago which, at that time, yielded
a historical number of complaints filed at the Board.
DAPS provided the Board an unprecedented ability to track and process complaints; achieve greater transparency; enhance the access and ease of
use for taxpayers; improve overall management; and save over two million pieces of paper.
In addition, DAPS allowed taxpayers to electronically to submit evidence via its portal instead of in person or via the mail. The complaints and
related valuation evidence is accessible by the taxpayer via the DAPS portal.
This historic change in the appeals processing system was a blueprint that captures how to make significant changes in a cost-eective manner in a
relatively short period of time. With the streamlined system in place, the Board adjudicated a then record number of complaints without increasing
sta and timely finalizing its session which allowed a July mailing of the 2nd Installment tax bill. The July mailing of the 2nd Installment tax bill
assures an uninterrupted revenue stream for local education, police and fire protection and multiple other local services and projects.
The Cook County Board of Review’s analytical workflow is NOT a mainframe process
The Cook County Board of Review’s analytical workflow has never been a mainframe-based process, however, it does solely depend upon
mainframe assessment roll data created and transmitted by the Assessor. More importantly, the frequent inquiries regarding “when is the Board
of Review transitioning o the mainframe” are grossly misplaced. Particularly, when the Cook County Board of Review modernized its analytical
processes in 2015 which the Assessor has yet to achieve at this time.
No Cook County Board of Review specific software modules in the 2015 IPTS contract
Due the Cook County Board of Review’s successful implementation of its future state application, the Digital Appeals Processing System (“DAPS”),
Tyler was not contracted to develop and implement any software modules exclusively for the Cook County Board of Review. Specifically, Tyler was
contracted to provide the following modules
4
:
Tyler Solution and Specific Software Fuctionality Required by Cook County
Tyler shall provide, install, configure and customize the Tyler Solution (software) as necessary to meet the County’s Property Tax needs. Tyler shall
provide at least the following software modules to meed the County’s requirements:
1. CAMA;
2. Exemptions;
3. Tax Billing and Collection;
4. Inquiry and Appeals;
5. Field Mobile;
6. E-file;
7. Public Access;
8. Cashiering;
9. Content Management;
10. Analyze;
11. Activity Center;
It is important to note that in the 2015 IPTS contract Tyler acknowledged that the Cook County Board of Review and Assessor appeals processes are
separate and distinct, stating the following:
5
• The Board of Review (Cook County Board of Review) appeals process is currently being automated via Hyland OnBase Software. This is not
the same as the Assessor’s Appeals process or 2nd pass. Tyler shall automate the Assessor’s Appeals process, or 2nd pass. Tyler shall build the
appropriate interfaces to the Cook County Board of Review OnBase implementation.
4
2015 Cook County Bureau of Technology and Tyler Technologies, inc. (Contract No. 1490-13787 (3.3 “Tyler Solution and Specific Software Functionality Required by
Cook County.”)
5
Id. at L.
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 8
In sum, there are no Cook County Board of Review specific software modules outlined in the subject contract. with the Cook County Board of
Review singular but vital role of having the ability to “PULL” and “PUSH” assessment data from the proposed “future state” application. The Tyler
solution “IASWorld” as it had from the “legacy” “mainframe” which is a data source shared by all members of the Cook County Property Tax Group
which includes the Cook County Assessor, Cook County Board of Review, CC Clerk and CC Treasurer.
Tyler was contracted to develop interfaces with the Cook County Board of Review’s DAPS application
However, due to the gross mischaracterization of the Cook County Board of Review’s role/involvement in the IPTS, and more importantly, the
impact on the 2021 2nd Installment Tax Bill, it must be noted that the “2015 IPTS Contract” explicitly states that “THE BOARD OF REVIEW IS
CURRENTLY AUTOMATING ITS PROCESSES VIA ONBASE SOFTWARE, THUS TYLER SHALL IDENTIFY AND BUILID ALL COOK COUNTY BOARD OF
REVIEW INTERFACES WITH ONBASE AND DOCUMENT SAID INTERFACES IN THE INTERGRATION PLAN.”
6
In addition, Tyler stated that the Cook County Board of Review’s OnBase solution was compatible with iasWorld application.
7
System Requirements
Tyler shall provide all functionality in-scope. The functionality listed below corresponds to the requirements identified by business process owners in
the Uses Case, which Tyler shall validate.
No. Requirements
Module or
Solution Name
In-scope?
5.011
Systems can capture credit card and e-check payments
through the receipt of an interface file from external source
(i.e. banks, credit card processors)
iasWorld Yes
5.012
Systems can access Board of Review (BOR) review process
finalized results from Onbase software.
iasWolrd Yes
5.013
System can interface with OnBase to present all relevant BOR
PIN information for an analysist to make a decision.
iasWorld Yes
5.014
System can associate (link) location of document in OnBase
to a PIN.
iasWorld Yes
5.015
System inferfaces with the BOR OnBase system to pull the
PTAB data and update the refunds values.
iasWorld Yes
Concerning the “integration” of the Cook County Board of Review’s DAPS application, the 2015 contract clearly states the following
8
:
Integration
Upon completing its initial assessment of the County’s Technology environment, Tyler shall document a plan that at minimum documents the
required interfaces with sucient detail to understand the data that will be pushed and/or pulled from each date source, including comprehensive
diagrams. This plan should also outline the approach and timeline to build, test and accept interfaces. Tyler shall also discuss with the County the
recommended interfacing approach such as web services, batch file processing, direct database integration via APIs, and/or the County’s Enterprise
Service Bus (ESB) prior to finalizing any decisions or making any assumptions. The County shall review and approve the Integration Plan.
Tyler shall at minimum provide:
1. An Integration;
2. An updated integrations/interface model/diagram;
3. Planned interfacing methods (real-time/batch, etc.);
4. Estimated phased timeline for interfaces to go live;
5. Approach to build and test each of the interfaces/integration;
6. For each identified interface, Tyler shall alert the County to work with its vendors to estimate indirect level of eort by resources other
than Tyler’s resources.
7. Tyler shall at minimum build interfaces to the following existing technologies:
6
Id. at 3.3.1.8
7
Id. at 3.3.2
8
Id. at 3.7
OnBase Software.
OnBase is used in various Property Tax Oces including the BOR, Treasurer’s Oce and
Assessor’s Oce. Tyler shall validate OnBase data feeds with all Oces.
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 9
Therefore, pursuant to the “2015 IPTS Contract,” the vendor, Tyler, shall document an integration plan that, at a minimum, that documents the
REQUIRED INTERFACES with sucient detail to understand the data that will be PUSHED and/or PULLED from each data source which specifically
includes NOT excludes OnBase. To date, such a plan does not exist nor contractually is it the responsibility of the Cook County Board of Review
to create such a plan. See Section 3.6. However, the Cook County Board of Review has proactively secured capital project approval and funding
to build an interface between the Cook County Assessor’s Oce and the Cook County Board of Review. This capital project will complement
Tyler’s eorts to establish this interface. Due to the well-known data dependencies of all members of the Cook County Property Tax Group, but
particularly the numerous exchanges between the Cook County Assessor and Cook County Board of Review, the Cook County Board of Review’s
ability to “PUSH” and “PULL” data to and from the future state application, “IASWorld” is critical to not only the entire Cook County Property Tax
Group, but ultimately to all Cook County residents.
It should be noted that the Cook County Board of Review has actively participated in the IPTS eorts, producing “file layouts;” “process maps;” and
“workflow maps” dating back to, at least February 2016, clearly pre-dating the current Cook County Assessor administration, however, this data has
been saved and shared on the “Integrated Property Project Team” site.
It should be noted that the Cook County Assessor informed the Cook County Board of Review in late June of 2021 of its inability transmits
assessment data via its future state application, “iasWorld” despite having launched Phase 1 of assessment “Go Live.” Nonetheless, Cook County
Assessor, Cook County Board of Review, Bureau of Technology and Tyler all collaborated on a solution that relied on the mainframe for the
2021 tax year. Presently, for the 2022 tax year, until an interface between the Cook County Board of Review’s OnBase application and “iasWorld”
as contracted for is developed and tested, the Cook County Property Tax Group will again rely on the mainframe “workaround” solution. This
“interface” issue was identified and addressed in the “2015 IPTS Contract,” therefore, it is far from a “newly discovered” issue.
THE ASSESSOR’S INTENTIONAL SHIFT OF THE TAX BURDEN
BASED ON FLAWED ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY
Majority View
In considering the income and expenses of a property, a decision must be made on how to treat the property taxes. When property is valued for ad
valorem tax purposes, taxes should not be considered an expense item. Because any deduction from gross income directly aects the indicated
property value through the income approach, only typical and reasonable expenses can be used.
When property is valued for ad valorem tax purposes, therefore, property taxes cannot be shown as an operating expense because the actual taxes
are not known as of the assessment date. Indeed, the appraisal is often done to estimate the amount of tax. The problem can be resolved by
developing an eective tax rate and including it in the capitalization rate for the subject property.
To avoid circularity, however, property taxes are accounted for in valuations for assessment purposes by adjusting the capitalization rate.
Otherwise, the amount of tax affects the estimate of value used to calculate the tax.
THE ASSESSOR’S “SHIFT” UNLOADED CAP RATE METHODOLOGY
Unloaded Cap Rate
The Assessor does not use a loaded cap rate becuase the tax rate, and levy, vary from year to year, depending on the municipality and other local
taxing bodies. As such, taxes cannot be predicted down to a precise dollar amount prior to the millage rate being announced after assessments are
certified.
The Assessor uses an unloaded cap rate because it reflects the way transactions and investments are viewed in the open marketplace. The typiacal
tax appeal appraiser will conclude for an unloaded cap rate and then add the tax load to that number and explain that the rates should equal that
same valuation when unwound. Instead of convuluting the cap rate by loading it, we utilize the unloaded rate to compare apples to apples in a clear
and transparent way.
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 10
CCAO Mass Income Approach
No Tax Load Applied Tax Load Applied
Square Feet 94,134 94,134 $310,642.00
Rent PSF (PGI) $3.30 $310,642.00 $3.30 $292,003
V/C (EGI) 6% $292,003 6% $248,203
Exp (NOI) 15% $248,203 15%
Cap Rate 8.50% 8.50% 2021 Tax Load: 5.59%
Cap Rate + Tax Load 14.09%
Market Value $2,920,037 $1,761,555
Assessed Value $730,009 $440,389
Note: 66% over tax load calculation
2018 Tri TMV 2021 CCAO TMV 2021 CCBOR Relief TMV 2021 Appr.
$841,276 $2,920,028 (+247% over 2018 TMV $1,764,753 (+110% over 2018 TMV) $840,000
2020 RET 2021 CCAO RET Actual 2021 RET
$47,007 $147,280 (+213% over 2020) $89,010 (+89% over 2020)
2021 PTAB Refund Liability
$104,912 $46,643
ILLUSTRATION OF CAPITALIZATION RATE VS.
LOADED CAPITALIZATION RATE CALCULATION
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 11
Save A Lot
420 S Pulaski
2018 CCBOR Relief 2018 Appr. 2020 RET 2021 CCAO 2021 RET. 2021 Appr.
$1,191,960 $875,000 $66,604 $2,540,908 +113%-No BOR Action $151,746+127% N/A
Subject: “Save a Lot” Grocery Store located at 420 S. Pulaski Road, Chicago, Illinois
Supermarket - Northwest Cit Submarket
Chicago, IL 60624
11,440
SF GLA
1.15
AC Lot
1968/2008
Built/Renov
Family Dollar
2274 N Milwaukee
2018 CCBOR Relief 2018 Appr. 2020 RET 2021 CCAO 2021 RET. 2021 Appr.
$1,064,804 (BOR NC) N/C $59,515 $1,725,620-+62% (BOR NC) $87,035-+46% $830,000
E
XAMPLE OF THE IMPACT OF THE
ASSESSOR’S MISDIRECTED “SHIFT”
METHODOLOGY
Subject: “Family Dollar “ located at 2274 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
Freestanding Retail - Northwest City Submarket
Chicago, IL 60647
10,000
SF GLA
0.63
AC Lot
1956
Built
Single
Tenancy
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 12
HEARINGS
Residential
The pandemic prompted the Board to be nimble in its operations. The Board,
therefore, undertook a triage system of pro se hearings, having members of our
Clerk’s sta do pre- screening phone calls with taxpayers to see if they wished to
proceed to hearing or simply had questions about the process. The Board is happy
to report that taxpayers and our hearing ocers found this created eciencies and
provided better service to taxpayers.
Commercial
Similarly, Cook County Board of Review commercial hearing ocers reported
eciencies in the hearing process having all hearings conducted via video
conference while maintaining full transparency to the public.
TRANSPARENCY
All information – notes, evidence, and decisions – have been available online for
seven years. Taxpayers may view final decision rendered and any notes by the
analysts. The Board is also proud that it frequently is quicker than the statutory
deadline to respond to FOIA requests.
Number of PINS Appealed
by Property Type
Residential
218,399
Commercial
83,516
Condo
235,703
0
3000
6000
9000
12000
15000
Number of Requested Hearings
20202021 2019 2018
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
• The Board continues to maintain a lean operation despite the explosion of cases appealed
• The Board has leveraged technological eciencies to keep up with the massive increase in cases filed and has realized a modest increase in
head count to help maintain its successes
• Moreover, the Board continues to maintain a budget that is overwhelmingly focused on personnel to continue service to the taxpayers
• The Board operates on the tax year; the information below is per the fiscal year
• Improve time to process appeals
• Improved public data access and transparency
• Severance the reliability on the mainframe
• Improved intergovernmental property tax agency data interaction and processes
• Intuitive portal enhancements for a better public user experience
Appropriations ($ thousands)
Fund Category 2020 Adopted 2021 Adopted 2022 Adopted 2023 Adopted
Corporate Fund 13,473 14,073 14,924 17,834
Special Purpose Funds 0 0 1,084 0
Total Funds 13,473 14,073 16,008 17,834
Expenditures by Type
Personnel 12,820 13,466 15,162 16,699
Non Personnel 653 607 846 1,135
Total Funds 13,473 14,073 16,008 17,834
FTE Positions 142.0 142.0 151.0 156.0
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 13
EMPLOYEES AND APPEALS
Appeals have held relatively consistent from 2009 to 2015, at which point they have been steadily rising year over year. In the decade from 2009-
2021, the BOR has seen a 59% increase in the volume of appeals. While we cannot say with certainty why appeals are increasing, we attribute it to
a combination of our oce’s increased community outreach eorts to inform and assist property owners with the appeals process, as well as to
changes in assessment practices by the Cook County Assessor.
While the volume of appeals has more than doubled, BOR sta (measured in Full Time Equivalent employees, or FTEs) has barely kept pace.
Nevertheless, we have increased the number of appeals reviewed exponentially by modernizing and professionalizing the oce with our digital
appeals system. The Board also increased outreach capabilities to match the need and access given the ongoing pandemic to ensure residents
are still reached when in person outreaches have been paused. Also, an increased measure of analysts available to help residents over video
conferencing and walk them through each step on how to file an appeal with the Board. In addition to increasing access to resources available in
other languages than English to reach more communities
In 2015, the BOR moved from an arcane paper-based system to an award-winning digital system that also made the Board’s functions more
transparent and more easily accessed by the public. Over twelve years, the number of BOR appeals has risen by 103%, but the investment in
the technology allowed the BOR to do its job much more eciently: eliminating the cumbersome paper-based system, making it easier for
management to find and clear chokepoints in the process, and making the data transfer between oces (the Board, the Assessor, the Treasurer,
etc.) much more seamless and faster. These eciencies have saved weeks in each session and created eciencies in downstream oces.
SOUTH TRI S
NORTH TRI N
CITY TRI C
2009 Appeal Session Volume ....................... 159,000 dockets
2015 Appeal Session Volume (DAPS) ................. 184,088 dockets
2017 Appeal Session Volume (May 10) ............... 228,389 dockets
2019 Appeal Session Volume ....................... 253,425 dockets
2020 Appeal Session Volume ....................... 223,276 dockets
2021 Appeal Session Volume ....................... 248,899dockets
Historic BOR APPEAL Data
Number of Appeals
0
50,000
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 14
EMPLOYEES AND APPEALS CONTINUED
Employees Appeals* Pins* Filed
2009 122 159 439
2010 118 158 386
2011 119 146 342
2012 124 152 423
2013 125 175 403
2014 125 162 319
2015 125 184 476
2016 130 208 422
2017 111 228 361
2018 126 245 540
2019 142 253 466
2020 142 223 387
2021 151 249 537
*in thousands
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
122 118 119 124 125 125 125 130 111 126 142 142 151
159 158 146 152 175 162 184 208 228 245 253 223 249
Sum of Number of FTEs
Sum of Appeals Reviewed
(in Thousands)
260
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
122
118
119
124
125
125
125
130
111
126
253
159
158
146
152
175
162
184
208
228
245
14 142 2
2009-2021 FTEs vs Appeal Volume
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
223
249
151
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 15
OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Tri/Assessment Year PINs (in thousands) Dockets (in thousands)
2009 439 135
2012 426 152
2015 475 184
2018 540 245
2021 537 249
2010 386 158
2013 403 174
2016 422 208
2019 466 253
2011 342 146
2014 319 162
2017 360 228
2020 366 224
Total PINS and Appeals Filed
Although the Board continues to see a large increase in the volume of appeals year over year, the 2021assessment was a nominal increase over the
2018 assessment, however, there was a notable 12% increase in Commercial/Industrial filings due to the significant Assessor increases.
Historical filing data before the Board from 2009-2021:
DocketsPINs
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
2012 2010 20112009 2015 2013 20142018 2016 20172021 2019 2020
City North South
Number of Dockets and Last Tri (in the thousands)
Assessment Years
CityNorthSouth
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 16
APPEALS RESULTING IN A REDUCTION
Assessment Years 2008–2021
Since 2017, the Board’s total reductions of all property types have been well below 60%:
Reductions by Property Type
Residential Commercial Tri
2021 44% 56% City
2020 45% 57% South
2019 57% 34% North
2018 65% 47% City
Appeals Resulting in a Reduction Assessment Years
Average Appeals (PINs)
Resulting in a Reduction
0
10
20202021 2019 2018 2017
20
30
40
50
60
70
Year Docket Resulting in Reductions
2009 77%
2010 67%
2011 62%
2012 64%
2013 62%
2014 59%
2015 64%
2016 64%
2017 63%
2018 52%
2019 54%
2020 55%
2021 47%
RESIDENTIAL NONCONDO
NUMBER OF APPEALS FILED
ATTORNEY VS PRO SE
ATTORNEY VS PRO SE CHANGE
RESIDENTIAL CHANGE COMMERCIAL CHANGE
190,318 vs 58,581
41% vs 51%
44% 56%
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 17
PTAB APPEALS
The Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) is frequently the next level most taxpayers can choose to appeal the decision of the Cook County
Board of Review. share a symbiotic relationship.
The mandate of each entity is to provide taxpayers with an unbiased forum for appealing assessments at no cost to the property owner. PTAB is a
forum to appeal the Cook County Board of Review’s decision.
PTAB DEFENSE DIVISION
The purpose of the PTAB Defense Division here at the Board is to defend the County’s assessment decisions from the appeals at PTAB. This division
is active year-round defending the dockets by preparing and providing evidence, arguing at hearings, and negotiating settlements from all the
prior years appealed until they are closed. Successfully defending and closing appeals, and reducing the backlog of appeals, given the resources
available at the Board is our task. The current total refund liability is $278 million. The Board has been very successful in defending the taxing
districts. Funding the resources of the Board to defend at PTAB pays o for the County and all the taxing districts. In FY 2022, there was $137
million of savings from the risk of refunds (plus savings on interest) for all taxing districts. Small investments in resources at the Board pay o in
large amounts given the size of the refund liability. The Cook County Board of Review was able to utilize a digital process for our PTAB workflow
for the first full year and improved eciencies with this in place. Each year we improve this process, working with PTAB and our respective
technology teams to coordinate improved digital file processing and workflow. Approximately 7-10% of BOR appeals go to PTAB annually.
INITIAL LIABILITY
$276,187,276
SAVINGS
$137,232,053
2020 PTAB CASELOAD
FISCAL YEAR 2021:
DOCKETS
CLOSED
PTAB
HEARINGS
DOCKETS FOR
HEARINGS28,583
384
10,409
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 18
EXEMPT PROPERTIES & THE COOK
COUNTY BOARD OF REVIEW
The Cook County Board of Review examines applications from governmental, charitable, and religious organizations that believe they meet
the qualifications for property tax exempt status. The requirements for property tax exempt status can vary. The Cook County Board of Review
examines each case to determine whether the property is specifically exempt by statute and whether the property owner has met the required
burden of proof. The Cook County Board of Review may hold a hearing in cases involving a question of law, an incomplete file, or when a taxing
body objects to an application. In either case, petitioners are notified by mail of their hearing date. Following the hearing, a recommendation on
exempt status is sent to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
While the Cook County Board of Review makes a recommendation, only the State of Illinois can remove property from the property tax roll. In
assessment year 2021, the Cook County Board of Review processed 1,182 exempt parcels requesting exempt status.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Exempt PINs Filed
Average Total Exempt PINs Filed
20202021 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Year PINs
2021 2,058
2020 1,182
2019 1,208
2018 1,527
2017 1,928
2016 1,694
2015 1,017
2014 1,017
2013 1,911
2012 1,246
2011 1,276
2010 1,367
2009 1,946
2008 2,807
2021 Total Exemption Petitions
Governmental 1,123/1,521
Religious/Charitable 256/537
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 19
2021 TAX YEAR OUTREACH EFFORTS
Through the Cook County Board of Review’s community outreach programs, we bring assessed valuation complaint services to the community.
During the 2021 assessment year, our oce conducted over 150 outreach events (often virtual; some in person) and serviced thousands of
taxpayers throughout Cook County. The main focus of the outreach programs are to educate and inform taxpayers of the Cook County Board of
Review’s services and to explain the assessed valuation appeal process. Our outreach programs have proven to be a viable and eective way to
provide the community with important information and to provide transparent access to this oce.
The Civic Consulting Alliance (CCA) report noted the underserved communities as a whole are over assessed leading to regressivity in the Cook
County Assessor’s Oce assessment model. Per the CCA report, owners of lower value homes contest their assessments at a lower rate than
owners of higher value homes. As it has for many years, the Cook County Board of Review provides transparent access to the assessment appeal
process via its Outreach programs. This has proven to be an invaluable vehicle in bridging the gap between the rich and poor homeowners and
also bringing our services into the community.
The Cook County Board of Review is fortunate to have the continued support for our respective outreach initiatives from elected ocials and
community organizations throughout Cook County. The Cook County Board of Review has partnered with elected ocials and community
organizations whose support has played an integral role in making the Cook County Board of Review more accessible to taxpayers.
Cook County Board of Review Annual Report 2022 20
CCAO TRIENNIAL ASSESSMENT CYCLE
Hyde Park
Jeerson
Lake
Lakeview
North Chicago
Rogers Park
South Chicago
West Chicago
City Tri (2012, 2015, 2018)
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
Barrington
Elk Grove
Evanston
Hanover
Leyden
Maine
New Trier
Niles
Northfield
Norwood Park
Palatine
Schaumburg
Wheeling
North Tri (2013, 2016, 2019)
10
16
17
18
20
22
23
24
25
26
29
35
38
Berwyn
Bloom
Bremen
Calumet
Cicero
Lemont
Lyons
Oak Park
Orland
Palos
Proviso
Rich
River Forest
Riverside
Stickney
Thornton
Worth
South Tri (2014, 2017, 2020)
11
12
13
14
15
19
21
27
28
30
31
32
33
34
36
37
39
City Tri
North Tri
South Tri
Area
Sections
Hydroline
Lake Michigan
Interstate Highway
04 81 22
Miles
COOK COUNTY
BOARD OF REVIEW
Commissioner Larry R. Rogers, Jr.
Commissioner Tammy Wendt
Commissioner Michael M. Cabonargi
ANNUAL REPORT
ASSESSMENT YEAR 2021
FISCAL YEAR 2022
