Many Oak Parkers got their first up-close
introduction to the unusual Cook County assessment system when
they opened their property tax bills last month. Faced with
double digit increases, one natural assumption may have been
that governments are receiving more. But the relatively modest
increases of the cumulative tax levies of all Oak Park taxing
districts didn't push local tax bills to these
unprecedented heights. The Village municipal government's
share of the tax levy, for example, actually declined. So why the
dramatic increase in individual property tax bills? Part of the
answer lies in a system that requires the Cook County Assessor
to value property on a sliding scale ranging from 16 percent of
fair market value for single family homes and condos, to 38
percent for commercial property. In all of Illinois'
other 101 counties, residential and commercial property are
treated the same and assessed at one-third their fair market
value, thus ensuring a sharing of the tax burden based only
upon the underlying market value of each property's
proportionate share. However, in Cook County, the sliding value
scale results in the state applying an equalization factor that
causes commercial and industrial properties here to experience
a higher percentage of the tax burden. In reassessment years,
such as the one just past, these business property owners tend
to more aggressively appeal their assessments. In the 2002
assessment process, for example, property values rose by an
unprecedented amount, and many businesses responded by
successfully using the
assessment appeals processes. Their success
resulted in the overall tax burden being shifted more to the
single-family residents. In the meantime, the tax amounts
levied by all of the governments did not change from their
initial levies, and no government received more than what they
levied. But the shift of the burden from commercial to residential
resulted in higher taxes for individual residential property
owners. For more information, contact the Cook County
Assessor's Office at 312.443.7550 or visit www.cookcountyassessor.com. Help also is
available through the Oak Park Township -- call
708.383.8005 or visit www.oakparktownship.org. For more
information on the Village's role in property taxes, call
358.5460 or email finance@oak-park.us.
A new 2.5 million gallon reservoir under
Stevenson Park and a new 300-space community parking garage
near Oak Park and River Forest High School were among
highlights of another busy construction season just now
beginning to wind down. The new reservoir on Lake Street just
west of Austin Boulevard gives the Village a two-day storage
capacity as required of all communities using Lake Michigan
water. The Stevenson Park playground, which was displaced
during the reservoir construction, is expected to be completely
rebuilt and landscaped by the end of October. To the west of
the reservoir project, the new parking garage has just begun
providing off-street parking for high school staff during
school hours as well as for the public during a range of
activities, including special events, Triton College evening
classes, the Farmers' Market and activities at Ridgeland
Common. Other highlights of the 2003 construction season
include:
• 14
blocks of new water and six blocks of new sewer lines were
installed. Still planned for this season are new lines along
Van Buren Street between Lombard Avenue and Austin
Boulevard, and from Jackson Boulevard to Harrison Street on Taylor Avenue.
• Three
miles of Village streets were resurfaced. Another half-mile
will be resurfaced before construction ceases, including
portions of Van Buren and Taylor, following the utility work
planned there.
• Approximately
400 Oak Park properties had portions of their sidewalks
replaced. Another 50 locations are still scheduled for sidewalk
work before the season ends.
• This
year's alley improvement program targeted nine blocks of
alleys for replacement. Work included drainage to carry water
away from private property. Portions of an additional two
alleys are still scheduled for work. These include the 1100
blocks of North East/Fair Oaks Avenues, and 200 North Oak
Park/Euclid Avenues.
