Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas and her outreach team will visit 13 small businesses in South Austin and Forest Park this week as part of her tour of local businesses in Cook County.

"Local businesses are the soul of this county. The purpose of the tour is to connect, inform and help local business owners in Cook County apply for the $76 million available in refunds for overpayments and $46 million in missing exemptions", Pappas said.

In South Austin on Thursday between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Pappas and Malcolm Crawford, founder of Sankofa Cultural Arts & Business Center, will meet with six small-business owners to discuss property tax questions.

Pappas and Crawford will begin the tour at Sankofa's, 5820 W. Chicago Ave. Other businesses Pappas will visit are The Roasted Leaf, Austin Dollar, Avanti's Boutique, Dream Team Office Suites and L&E Vienna.

On Friday, Pappas and Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins will visit seven local businesses.

At 1 p.m., Pappas and Hoskins will start the tour at Kribi Coffee, 7324 Madison St. Other businesses that are part of the tour on Friday are Zimmerman Harnett Funeral Home, Casa de Puros, Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor, Twisted Cookie, Chirrion Mexican Grill and Cafe De Luca.

To check your property taxes or to make a payment, visit cookcountytreasurer.com:

• Select the purple box labeled "Your Property Tax Overview"
• Search by property address or enter your Property Index Number (PIN)
• There is no fee if you pay from your bank account