Chicago Hit by Record Property Tax Hike as Office Values Fall

Chicago homeowners are getting hit with a record property tax hike after the city’s downtown office buildings and other commercial real estate values fell again.

The median residential bill climbed by 16.7% to $4,457, according to a Monday report from Maria Pappas, the Cook County treasurer. The record jump comes after commercial property values in Chicago’s Loop, the core area of skyscrapers, financial firms and offices that drives much of its economy, dropped by $379.2 million last year amid lower sale prices and vacancies, the report said. The lower values translate to less revenue collected on those properties and ...