Assessor’s Office

Your Taxpayer Advocates

1616 N. Arlington Heights Rd
Arlington Heights, IL 60004

taxinfo@wheelingtownship.com
(847) 259-1515

Property Tax Appeals

Wheeling Township Assessor’s office has a new email for appeals: appeal@wheelingtownship.com

To request assistance with an appeal with the Cook County Assessor and Cook County Board of Review please include the following:

  • Subject line: Property Index Number
  • Body of email: Name, address, and request an appeal be filed on your behalf.

You will receive an email confirmation from the Township and a mailed decision letter from the agencies a few months after the closing date.

We will notify you of opening dates and other appeal information as it becomes available.

Condos: Check with your association, or an appeal can be submitted online.

If you are on the Senior Freeze, there is no need to appeal; the Assessed Value is frozen.

Second Installment Tax Bills Delayed

Ken Jochum, Township Assessor — kjochum@wheelingtownship.com

Cook County second installment tax bills, which are supposed to be mailed by July 1 and due by August 1 will be late this year. According to Ken Jochum, Wheeling Township Assessor, current estimates are that second installment bills will be about two months late, leading to a likely due date around October 1.

Last year, problems with a new county computer system resulted in a December 15 due date for second installment tax bills. Although the new computer system appears to be working better now, last year’s delayed bills are a major reason for this year’s delays.

For many taxpayers, the arrival of second installment bills marks the first time they realize there are problems with their assessment. Taxpayers often address such problems by filing appeals. But because last year’s tax bills were so late, many could not file appeals because their townships had already closed for appeals by the time the bills arrived.

In response, county officials reopened appeal periods for the closed townships last December. Reopening the appeal periods, however, delayed the final resolution of this year’s appeals. As a result, this year’s tax bills are late again.

Fortunately, this year’s bills are not expected to be nearly as late as last year’s. This means that there is a good chance that next year’s tax bills will be issued on time.

About Who Does What…

The Cook County Assessor is required by law to identify and assign fair market value to all properties in Cook County. The Cook County Assessor does NOT set taxes, mail bills, or collect taxes. The Cook County Assessor is responsible only for determining the value of property, thereby establishing your assessed valuation.

The Wheeling Township Assessor does not assess property but rather is a taxpayer advocate, assisting taxpayers with appeals as well as the navigation of the property tax system.

The Wheeling Township Assessor is a separately elected official who works for the taxpayer and assists the Cook County Assessor. Our office is not funded or controlled by the Cook County Assessor’s office.

Our staff has many years of experience serving taxpayers in Wheeling Township and welcomes the opportunity to serve you.

Services Provided by Our Office

  1. Assistance with the filing of Assessment Appeals through the Cook County Assessor’s office and Cook County Board of Review.
  2. Application for and verification of Senior Freeze, Senior Exemption, Homeowners exemption, Disabled Veteran’s and Disabled Person’s Exemptions.
  3. Assistance with filing for Real Estate Tax Refunds (Certificates of Error).
  4. Provide property index numbers (PIN) as required by local municipal variance applications.
  5. Information and Assistance with the following Cook County Agencies: Cook County Assessor, Cook County Board of Review, Cook County Treasurer, and Cook County Recorder of Deeds/Cook County Clerk.
  6. Assistance with name and address changes for the Cook County Treasurer’s office and Property Location changes for the Cook County Assessor’s office.
  7. Processing of Building Permits and Certificates of Occupancy with the Cook County Assessor for entry on tax rolls.
  8. Maintain current Real Estate Sales Transfer Declarations
  9. Free notarization for property related forms.
  10. Provide forms for division and consolidation applications.

Exemptions

Exemptions reduce the equalized assessed value (EAV) of a property. Deductions will appear on the second installment bills issued in the summer.

Homeowner’s Exemption

The homeowner exemption is $10,000 off of the EAV or 10,000× the local tax rate.

Senior Exemptions

Seniors who currently receive the SENIOR EXEMPTION need not reapply; the exemption will automatically renew annually. Two senior exemptions are available.

  1. The SENIOR EXEMPTION, available to all seniors regardless of income, reduces the Equalized Assessed Value on your 2nd installment bill by $8,000. That can equate to a savings of $700 or more annually on the property tax bill. This exemption automatically renews unless a sale or death is recorded.
  2. The SENIOR FREEZE may provide some seniors with additional savings if the combined gross income of all occupants in a senior’s household is less than $65,000 (for income of previous tax year), and if the senior has been an owner-occupant of the house since January 1st. The senior freeze does not freeze the total amount due each year; it freezes the total assessed value. The taxable amount is still subject to the annual state equalizer and local tax rate changes.

Exemptions can only be taken on one property, and that must be the owner’s principal residence. One senior/senior freeze exemption per household is permitted.

Disabled Veteran Exemption

  • Veterans with 30%–49% service connected disability receive $2,500 reduction in the equalized assessed value.
  • Veterans with 50%–69% service connected disability receive $5,000 reduction in the EAV.
  • Veterans with 70% or more service connected disability are completely exempt from property taxation on their primary residence up to an EAV of $250,000.

Disabled Person

The Disabled Person’s Homeowner Exemption provides an annual $2,000 reduction in the EAV of the property. The property must have been owned and occupied on January 1 of the assessment year by a disabled person who is liable for the payment of property taxes.

Cook County Treasurer Name and Address Changes

Property owners should use www.cookcountytreasurer.com to update the name or mailing address on their tax bills. To help homeowners who have mail delivery problems, the site also shows when tax bills have been returned by the U.S. Postal Service.

Our staff of Neighbors stands ready to assist you with any real estate property tax related issues. Stop in or call us any time Monday through Friday from 9–4:30.

At Your Service,
Ken Jochum CIAO, Township Assessor kjochum@wheelingtownship.com
Julia Lipka CIAO, Chief Deputy Assessor