Oak Forest Property Tax Rates Increase 2.5 Percent

OAK FOREST, IL — The Cook County Clerk’s Office released its calculations of combined 2018 property tax rates for more than 1,400 taxing agencies in the county. Under the new rates, Oak Forest property owners will see their average overall tax rate rise by 2.5 percent compared to the prior year. Tax bills are increasing most this year in the richest areas of Chicago, while staying generally flat in the suburbs and less wealthy parts of the city, according to the clerk’s office.

On average, the 2018 property tax bill for a Cook County home with a market value of $200,000 would be $6,268 in the south and west suburbs, $4,741 in the north and northwest suburbs and $3,272 in Chicago, according to the clerk’s office. In 2018, public bodies in Cook County taxed a record $14.9 billion, up 3.7 percent from $14.4 billion in the previous tax year.

The rates released Thursday show the taxable value of property in the county has increased by 5.1 percent, with the bulk of the growth coming from last year’s reassessment of Chicago. The city’s increased assessed value means the general property tax rate for Chicago property owners decreased by 6.6 percent, according to the clerk’s office. Owners of properties with assessed values that rose by less than that amount will generally see their tax bill shrink. Because the growth in property value has come on the North Side and central portions of the city, the property tax burden is effectively being shifted away from the South Side, according to the clerk’s office.

Suburban Cook County was not reassessed last year, and most homes saw little change in assessed value from 2017 to 2018. The clerk’s office reported taxes were generally flat for homeowners and slightly higher for commercial properties, although it noted rates can vary significantly based on local taxing bodies. For instance, Skokie’s six elementary school districts mean combined tax rates vary by more than 4 percent among village residents, and Lynwood residents will see rates more than 14 percent higher depending on which of two school districts a property is located.

In the south and west suburbs, the total amount billed increased by 0.5 percent, while in the north and northwest suburbs it was up by 1.2 percent. North suburban townships have been undergoing a full triennial reassessment in 2019, which will be reflected on next year’s tax bill. The south suburbs will be up for reassessment in 2020.

Changes to individual tax bills from year to year come from a combination of the assessed value of properties, levies from local taxing bodies and any change in the equalization factor, or multiplier, issued by the Illinois Department of Revenue in order to keep property assessment uniform throughout the state. This year, it was reduced by 1.75 percent, leading to declines in the taxable value of some suburban properties.

"Calculating and publishing these tax rates is a massive effort towards transparency and fairness in taxation, and I want to commend the staff of the Clerk's Office and the municipal offices for working together and getting this part of the process done in an extremely efficient manner," said Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, announcing the new rates. The county clerk’s office is responsible for dividing up the levies from its hundreds of taxing bodies by taxable property values determined through the assessment process.

In Oak Forest, the average composite rate — which takes into account all taxing bodies — rose from 13.97 percent in 2017 to 14.33 percent in 2018.

Suburban Cook County’s highest average tax rate is 34.547 percent in Park Forest. Its lowest is 6.906 percent in Hinsdale. The general tax rate within Chicago is 6.786 percent for tax year 2018.

Individual rates may vary significantly depending on the specific taxing districts where a property is located. The second installments of 2018 property tax bill payments are due Aug. 1.

Read the complete 2018 Tax Rate Report from the Cook County Clerk’s Office