Under the shadow of the recent hired-truck scandal that has City Hall reeling, Daley admits the assessment system's flaws include property taxes having to shoulder the largest burden of financing schools. However, instead of endorsing James Houlihan's reform proposals, Daley instead challenged the Cook County Assessor's office to review individual residential assessments for homeowners who lost appeals.
"The assessment system must be fair to both homeowners and businesses," Daley said. "Yet today, the procedure is so complicated that it has turned into a full employment program for business tax lawyers. I want an assessment system that doesn't encourage commercial (property owners) to sue and force our school districts to refund tax dollars. That is happening across Illinois today."
The two largest cases pending before the state's Property Tax Appeal Board would cut taxes for the owners--CNA Insurance Co. and Target Corp.--by $1 million a year. CNA Insurance is aiming to cut Houlihan's $109.4-million market value on the 440,000-sf CNA Plaza at 55 E. Jackson Blvd. while Target is aiming to trim Houlihan's $64-million estimate for the 1.6-million-sf Marshall Field's store at 111 N. State St. The two companies' most recent tax bills amounted to nearly $12 million.
The city already requires developers receiving financial assistance, ranging from tax increment financing to land write-downs, to set aside up to 20% of the residential units in their developments for renters and buyers qualifying under the department of housing's affordability guidelines. Daley today is sending the city council ordinances earmarking $2 million to the city's low-income housing trust fund and issuing $1.5 million in TIF notes to Local Initiatives Support Corp.
"We've built, preserved or otherwise supported more than 100,000 units of affordable housing," Daley said. "Those are 100,000 individuals and families who might not be living in safe, decent, affordable homes or apartments if it hadn't been for our housing programs."
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