Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office sent out reassessment notices this month to property owners in Norwood Park Township, which includes the villages of Norridge and Harwood Heights. [City of Chicago]

The first round of new assessments for the 2022 tax year hit mailboxes in Norridge and Harwood Heights last week, and they offer an early signal that landlords may be spared of the sticker shock that has confronted them the last three years.

But the timing of the new valuations — five months after they’re typically sent out — has set off warning bells that the delay could cascade into next year’s collections, extending a headache for suburban municipalities and school districts with no clear end in sight. Kaegi's office is downplaying the threat of a future delay, saying the same technology update that contributed to this year's pile-up will speed up assessments now that it's been implemented.