Community High School District 218 unanimously approved a resolution this week to authorize interventions in proceedings before the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board.
More Top Picks Best Ergonomic Office Chairs For Tall Users
When property owners go before the appeals board seeking to contest a property’s assessment, local entities such as School District 218 can intervene if they feel the properties have not been assessed fairly. While the state Property Tax Appeal Board issues final decisions regarding property tax appeals, it does not issue, process or control the payment of property tax refunds, according to the Appeal Board’s website.
“Community High School District 218 only intervenes in appeals where the potential impact to the district is $100,000 or more. The district generally does not intervene in individual residential property appeals,” district spokesperson Andrea Azzo said in a statement.
In essence, school districts are given an opportunity to protect their funding and preserve as much potential or actual tax revenue as possible, officials said.
For properties located in Cook County, all refund processing and issuance is handled exclusively by the Cook County treasurer’s office, they said.
Questions around property taxes and ongoing delays have loomed over many school districts over the past year.
Business manager Anthony Corsi said the district still has not received the second collection from tax year 2025. He said district recently received a payment of about $1.7 million from the county for tax year 2024.
“Based on our records, Community High School District 218 is still missing $3 million to $5 million in property taxes from the previous fiscal year,” the district said in a statement to the Daily Southtown.
Second-installment bills are due Oct. 1, 2026, according to a news release from Cook County.
Board president Carol Kats said during the meeting she was surprised to learn that second-installment bills are due Oct. 1 instead of in November.
Last year, the second-installment of property taxes for tax year 2024 were due Dec. 15, 2025, delayed from the previous year’s summer timeline, according to the Cook County treasurer’s office.
To bridge the property tax payout gap, the county recently awarded $191 million worth of stopgap loans to 32 villages, library and school districts.
More Top Picks Best Candy Thermometers
School districts get the largest portion of property taxes and serve as a primary source of public school funding, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Total property taxes billed by Cook County for tax year 2025 increased to approximately $19.9 billion, up from $19.2 billion in 2024, according the county’s annual tax rate report released Wednesday morning. The tax report calculated rates for approximately 1,000 taxing agencies across the county.
The county attributed several factors to the increase, including changes in assessed values and taxing district levies, according to a news release from the county.
Amidst some uncertainties regarding payouts, District 218 said earlier this year it believes it is in a better position compared to some other districts resulting from strong fund balancing, meaning more money in the bank.
The district provided no further comments regarding the property tax delays.