Delinquent Cook County property taxes totaling $189.6 million on 56,976 properties is scheduled to be auctioned at the Annual Tax Sale that begins May 3, 2019, Treasurer Maria Pappas said today. Lists of all the properties, by municipality and Chicago ward, are published on cookcountytreasurer.com.

“I am asking religious leaders, community groups and elected officials to use these lists to see if they know any of these homeowners with delinquent taxes and alert them about the Tax Sale,” Pappas said. “With their help, we will get many homes off the Tax Sale list.”

Among the properties with delinquent taxes:

• Nearly 21,000 owners may be unaware of the Tax Sale because the U.S. Postal Service has returned their bills and subsequent notices
• About 22,000 owe $1,000 or less
• Over 2,000 homes are probably owned by senior citizens
• As many as 900 seniors would see their homes removed from the Tax Sale if they applied for property tax exemptions they received last year

Homeowners can avoid the Tax Sale by paying all delinquent taxes and interest before the Sale begins. To see if your taxes are delinquent—and to make a payment—visit cookcountytreasurer.com and select “Avoid the Tax Sale.” You can search by address or by Property Index Number (PIN).

The May 3 Tax Sale is for homes, businesses and land with unpaid bills for Tax Year 2017 (originally due in 2018). A summary of the properties is attached.