Cook County Assessor and Cook County Board of Review agree to a new tax load calculation
The Cook County Assessor and the Cook County Board of Review have agreed to a unified methodology of calculating tax rates and tax loads for properties which are being reassessed in 2026. For the past seven years under two terms of Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, the Cook County Assessor’s Office refused to implement tax loads in their valuations of commercial, industrial and multi-family properties. This omission was a key factor in increasing the market values of commercial, industrial and multi-family properties.
In 2024, under Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle, The Cook County Property Tax Reform Group was established to provide an independent audit of Cook County’s commercial valuation methodologies. The Property Tax Reform Group identified this key difference between the methodologies of the Cook County Assessor and the Cook County Board of Review who used tax load for the commercial valuation as per USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Practice) standards and procedures. Cook County Board President Preckwinkle has stated that “For too long, differences between agencies created confusion for taxpayers and undermined confidence in the property tax system. By aligning the offices’ tax-rate methodologies, we are taking a meaningful step toward a more fair, predictable and accountable process.” Office of the Cook County Board President press release dated May 26, 2026.
Both the Assessor and Board of Review’s Office agreed that during the first year of the reassessment cycle (2026), properties located in the south and southwestern suburbs of Cook County will be using the 2023 Cook County Equalization Factor and the 2023 tax rates in their commercial valuations which is the last triennial reassessment year for properties located in the south and southwest townships of Cook County. These 2023 rates and 2023 equalization factor will be used in both of these office’s income capitalization approaches to valuation. For properties which are in the second or third year of their triennial assessment years, the Cook County Assessor and the Cook County Board of Review will use the previous year’s or most recently ascertainable Cook County Equalization Factor and tax rates in calculating their tax loads.
Hopefully, this unified policy will improve transparency and consistency in the Assessor and Board of Review’s valuations and assessments.
