Pictured: Seal of Cook County, Illinois. [Daniel X. O’Neil / CC BY 2.0]

Clarifications Published Dec. 19, 2024: Includes clearer definition of Class 3-18 split-class property assessment classification and clarifies location of identified affected properties.

After Cook County officials recently reclassified the county’s Class 3-18 tax assessment definition for mixed-use buildings, the assessor office’s chief-of-staff testified before county board commissioners on Wednesday about how the office corrected the language to ease mounting property owner and tenant concerns.

The city’s Class 3-18 property split-class classification was part of County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s efforts to close “apartment loopholes” allegedly allowing some commercial properties to unfairly get tax breaks, according to a 2022 report from the county’s Office of the Independent Inspector General (OIIG). In turn, the reclassification resulted in more properties’ assessed values skyrocketing and, in some cases, their tax bills doubling, according to public commenters during Wednesday’s meeting.