As Chicagoans finally dig out from a series of winter storms, many residents are still digging out of a financial mess caused by exorbitant property tax bills due right before the first of the year.
As finger-pointing continues as to who is responsible for a shocking rise in real estate taxes for 2024 — a report issued recently by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas noted an overall 11.6% jump over the prior year — Chicago homeowners who can least afford the financial gut punch are suffering the most.
Pappas noted the largest increases fell on homeowners “on the South and West sides, where median bills shot up by more than 30% in 15 community areas.” For example, the median residential bill for residents of West Garfield Park, where the household income is less than half the national average, rose 133%. Increases for homeowners in similarly low income neighborhoods — North Lawndale, Englewood, West Pullman — were just slightly lower than that.
Embattled homeowners are protesting at City Council meetings and demonstrations including “bill burning” events to express their disgust. But the silver lining of higher property values in distressed communities is dulled by a widening dark cloud that represents a lethal threat to the long-term vitality and viability of this great city: the ongoing decline of Chicago’s business sector, particularly in the Loop.
Anyone with a pair of eyes can see the empty storefronts, darkened offices, low pedestrian traffic and random acts of violent crime in an area that has historically buzzed with shoppers, tourists and corporate workers. But the figures tell an even starker story. Commercial properties in the Loop lost $379.2 million, a little more than 7%, in valuation in a single year.
Vacancies in downtown office buildings just hit another record high at 28.2%, part of a three-year trend of declining occupancies. Retailers and restaurateurs suffer accordingly; Axios just reported that this year will follow “the brutal path of 2025” in terms of shuttered stores and eateries in Chicago, producing yet another embarrassing headline for the city.
This ongoing crisis not only eviscerates job opportunities here but dramatically shifts the overall property tax burden from businesses to homeowners, creating a lopsided system that continues to add to the city’s affordability problem. Chicago is now ranked ahead of notoriously expensive places to live such as Washington and San Francisco in terms of housing affordability and ranks in the top 20 in the nation for overall cost of living.
But when was the last time Chicagoans heard an elected official make a serious pitch to bring new companies to our city? How many construction cranes fill our sky? How many ribbon-cutting ceremonies have been covered by the Chicago media in recent years?
The hope for any short-term remedy is grim. In my discussions with real estate developers on both the commercial and industrial side, it appears Chicago is being red-lined of sorts as financial institutions avoid making any new major investments in the city while existing companies head for the exit.
Look no further than the departure of Boeing, which relocated here from Seattle in 2001, purchasing a new headquarters building at 100 N. Riverside Plaza for $165 million in 2005. That building just sold for $22 million, resulting in more empty office space and a loss of at $1 million in annual property taxes — not to mention another black eye for the city’s once-proud business reputation.
The reason why Chicago residents are seeing their property tax bills skyrocket is due to a lack of focus by political leaders on recruiting new companies to the city or helping retain businesses in the Loop. Chicago needs a mayor who works to make the business community thrive, otherwise our residents pay the prices. When downtown declines, neighborhoods and taxpayers suffer the most.
John Kelly is president and CEO of public affairs and consulting firm All-Circo in Chicago.
date: 2026-02-07 14:28:00