Edward Balcsik      
Attorney at Law      
2164 W. Giddings      
Chicago, IL 60625      
773 275-0754      
Fax: 275-7115      

Property taxes in Lincolnwood, like the rest of Cook County property taxes, are billed twice a year. The Property tax bills are mailed on about February 1 and on or after September 1. Property taxes are paid one year in arrears. This means the the property tax bills mailed and payable in 2007 are for 2006.

My property tax is too high. What can I do?

You cannot appeal the tax bill itself. But do not ignore the tax bill. Check the second bill or second installment sent each year to see which exemptions are applied. (See appealing your property tax assessment below for more information on correctly contesting your property taxes.)

Which exemptions should I be receiving?

This varies - here are the Cook County property tax exemptions.

7% Expanded Homeowner Exemption (EHE): For owner occuppied residential property. It provide relief to homeowners facing assessment increases and the resulting increases on their property tax bills. The 7% EHE is an expanded homeowner exemption that provides additional savings to homeowners by slowing the impact of a home’s reassessment and providing taxpayers with more stable and predictable tax bills. This Exemption will be in effect for the City of Chicago until 2008, for the North suburbs (including Lincolnwood) until 2009, and for the South suburbs until 2010. To qualify must OWN and OCCUPY the property as of 1 January of the tax year.

The Senior Citizen Exemption provides tax relief by reducing the equalized valuation of an eligible residence. This property exemption appears on the second-installment of the real estate tax bill

The Senior Freeze Exemption allows qualified senior citizens to apply for a freeze of the equalized assessed value (essentially the property tax basis) of their properties for the year preceding the year in which the property tax payer first qualifies and applies for this exemption. This exemption has an income requirement whereby the household income must be less than $50,000 per year.



The Home Improvement Exemption allows you to increase the value of your home with up to $75,000 worth of improvements without increasing your property taxes for at least four years.

Appealing your Property Tax Assessment

My taxes are too high, what do I do?

You appeal the assessed value of the property. This is the only practical recourse. While it is moderately complex to file a tax assessment appeal, many homeowners file their own. The Cook County Assessor's office even allows the filing of appeals online Cook County Assessors - Residential Property tax Appeals.

Property tax appeals can only be filed in a narrow time window. Specifically in the 30 days following the mailing of the "Notice of Proposed Assessed Valuation" by the Assessor's Office. For Lincolnwood, which for tax assessment purposes is part of Niles Township, the notices were mailed on 6/29/2007. Appeals were accepted until 8/3/2007.

Can I hire the Law Office of Edward Balcsik to file an appeal?

Yes, but many homeowers do file their own. If you decide to hire my office for a property tax appeal, I charge a percentage (one-third) of the first year savings obtained. For more information call Edward Balcsik at (773) 275-0754.



Edward Balcsik is an attorney whose practice is concentrated in real esate law, particularly the purchase and sale of residential real estate. Please note: The Supreme Court of Illinois does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and that the certificate, award or recognition is not a requirement to practice law in Illinois.