Legal Notices: Reassessments

This publication constitutes official notice of the changes in assessment to owners of real property. Assessment changes, as published, are determined by the Cook County Assessor's Office.

It is the duty of the Assessor to appraise all taxable real property in Cook County at its fair cash value as of January 1. Fair cash value is described as what the property would bring at a voluntary sale in the normal course of business or trade. The Assessor is required by law to assess said property in a fair and just manner.

The Assessor does not determine property taxes. Property taxes are determined by the spending needs and requests of municipalities, school boards, park districts, and other local government agencies that provide
public services to property owners. The Assessor’s sole responsibility is to estimate the value of real estate property.

In Cook County, real property is classified according to its use. The classification system is used to determine the percentage of the fair cash value at which the real property is assessed for purposes of taxation. Accordingly, real property is assessed at only a fraction of its fair cash value, depending on its use and classification.