Cook County Treasurer's Office - 9/25/2001

The mailing of second-installment property tax bills for tax year 2000 has begun, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas announced today. Pappas urged that payment be made at any of LaSalle Bank's 126 locations.

By state law, the County Treasurer's Office must mail property-tax bills 30 days before the "due date," or final date for payment without penalties. The current mailing began 37 days before the November 1st due date for payment of this installment.

"We are glad to be able to give taxpayers an extra week to arrange for payment," Pappas said, noting that her office received tax rates from the County Clerk's Office on September 13. The tax rates are needed for the Treasurer's Office to order the bills to be calculated, printed and mailed.

Pappas urged property owners to pay by November 1 to avoid penalties of 1.5 percent per month on unpaid taxes. Payment can be made at 118 N. Clark Street, Chicago, and at more than 126 LaSalle Bank locations across Cook County.

The Cook County Treasurer collects $8 billion in property taxes on 1.6 million parcels of real estate annually, invests the funds, and distributes them to more than 1,800 local units of government across Cook County, such as municipalities and school, library, police and fire districts.

In a given year, property taxes are collected for the previous calendar year in two installments. The first installment for tax-year 2000 bills was due last March 1.