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Articles by Ali Elsaffar
Lawmaker's letter leaves little doubt about deductions
At 2017's last light, Americans came out in droves to prepay property taxes. By New Year's Eve, some 126,000 had come to Cook County to pay the first installment of 2017 taxes, even though these taxes were not due until March of 2018. The motivation for so many "early bird" taxpayers was the nation's transformed tax law. Until Dec. 31, 2017, itemizers of income tax deductions could subtract the sum of all property taxes paid in a year from their total taxable income.
Austin Pantry shouldn't be punished with drug seller
On Aug. 30, I learned that an employee of Austin Pantry, a store located at my building on Austin Boulevard and Chicago Avenue, had been arrested for selling heroin at the store. The next day, the village of Oak Park closed the business and announced that it would conduct a hearing about permanently revoking its license. These events surprised and disturbed me as I bought the building to improve the neighborhood, and the sale of drugs from Austin Pantry obviously has the opposite effect.
Taxing questions about those Aug. 1 bills
For most Oak Park taxpayers, the recently mailed second installment tax bills reflect an annual increase of about 12% over the total amount of property taxes paid last year. This year's tax increases, coupled with the increases from last year, mean that most Oak Park taxpayers are contending with tax bills that are about 20% higher than they were two years ago.
Oak Park assessed values increase by 24%
On March 1, Oak Park property owners began receiving reassessment notices from the Cook County Assessor's Office reflecting the assessor's estimate of Oak Park property values as of Jan. 1, 2017. The median Oak Park assessed value for residential properties increased by about 24%. The increases associated with the 2017 triennial reassessment reflect the recovery of home prices over the last three years. During the Great Recession, home prices fell.
My father is a Muslim immigrant
Protesters marched on Scoville Park recently during what was billed as a "Rally for Sanctuary in Oak Park," an event organized by the Democratic Party of Oak Park and Suburban Unity Alliance, among other groups. | SEBASTIAN HILDAGO/Contributor My father is a Muslim immigrant from Iraq. I was raised by him and my mother, an American-born Christian, in the suburbs of Chicago. My mixed heritage makes President Trump's attitude toward Muslims very personal to me.
Ask The Assessors: First installment tax bills are due March 1
First installment property tax bills for tax year 2016 arrived in the last week of January. Property taxes are paid in two installments. The first installment bill is 55 percent of a property's total tax bill for the previous year and will be due on March 1. Taxpayers should note that first installment tax bills will not reflect homeowner, senior citizen or other exemptions, nor will they reflect the impact of successful assessment appeals filed in calendar year 2016.
Questions about your latest tax bills?
Nothing lasts forever. Forever is a lie. All we have is between hello and goodbye. This quote by an unknown author can be applied to this year's property tax bills. Two years ago, our community said hello to a $10 million tax cut from Oak Park and River Forest High School. But this year we must say goodbye to it. The end of the tax reduction is the primary reason most Oak Park property owners will see tax increases of about 7.5% over last year.
The high school and your tax bill
Issues involving Oak Park and River Forest High School and property taxes have been in the news recently. After receiving first installment tax bills at the end of January, taxpayers may wonder how these issues are influencing their bills. One important issue involving the high school relates to its tax levy. The school reduced its tax levy by $10 million in 2014, and retained the $10 million reduction in 2015. For 2016, however, the school's levy will increase by about $10 million.
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