EVENTS

Treasurer Pappas closes office at noon today to safeguard health of taxpayers and employees

Pay taxes, ask questions at cookcountytreasurer.com
Treasurer Pappas closes office at noon
today to safeguard health of taxpayers
and employees
To help protect taxpayers and employees against the spread of the new coronavirus, the Cook County
Treasurer’s Office will close at noon today, March 13, 2020, and remain closed indefinitely, Treasurer Maria
Pappas said today.
“We have not had a case of the coronavirus in our office and I want to keep it that way,” Pappas said. “While it
is of surpassing importance to protect our employees and visitors to the building from this virus, it is important
to continue serving taxpayers.”
In the meantime, key personnel will work remotely to collect tax payments, issue refunds and perform the other
office functions, Pappas said. Further aspects of our plan include:
• The Office continue to accept payments at cookcountytreasurer.com, where more pay than at Chase
branches.
• Mail and payments continue to be accepted at the Chase lockbox, community banks and Chase
branches, ensuring that distribution of tax revenue to taxing districts is not interrupted.
• Taxpayers seeking answers to questions regarding property taxes can contact us via the website.
Questions are answered by email by staff working remotely.
• Callers to 312.443.5100 remain able to use the automated menu to answer basic questions. They will
be directed to the website should they need additional information.
• The website is available in more than 100 different languages. Visitors can download informational
brochures in 24 languages.
“I will evaluate the situation on a daily basis to determine when it is advisable to reopen,” Pappas said.

Salesforce and Pappas Team Up

No need to come to the office. Apply online for $79
million in refunds and $44 million in missing Cook
County property tax exemptions

Taxpayers seeking property tax refunds will have new tools on cookcountytreasurer.com
enabling them to file electronically instead of downloading a form and mailing it in, Cook
County Treasurer Maria Pappas said today.
“Filing for refunds just became easier, and for good reason,” Pappas said. “Because of
the pandemic, the new normal may be that people can’t visit government offices to submit
documents or get answers to questions about their tax bill in person. So, we’ll let them
‘visit’ from home.”
Pappas asked consulting firm Applications Software Technology LLC (AST) to integrate
Salesforce customer relationship management (CRM) software with the website to
streamline the process of applying for refunds caused by overpayments and missing
property tax exemptions. Taxpayers can now search for refunds by property address and
select the application button to submit their claim.
The system also allows taxpayers to submit supporting documentation, if necessary.
Eliminating paper applications will shave one week off the time it takes the Office to issue
refunds due to overpayments, reducing processing to three to five weeks, Pappas said.
About 16,000 paper applications are mailed each year.
Pappas also overhauled her CRM system, which the office developed in 2001, so that
information about refund applications and other inquiries about property taxes is
contained in a single database.
“Our CRM system was ahead of its time then,” Pappas said. “Now we go to the next level
of efficiency.”

Pappas Gratified as Cook County Board
Approves Penalty Waivers on Second
Installment Property Tax Bill

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said she was gratified that the Board of
Commissioners today approved her suggestion to waive late penalties for two months on
property tax bills scheduled to be due August 3.
“Homeowners and business owners are financially stressed because of the pandemic,
and the County Board’s action will give them two extra months to get their finances
together and pay by October 1 without incurring late-payment charges,” Pappas said.
On April 29, Pappas wrote Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Board’s 17
commissioners to urge them to waive penalties of 1.5 percent per month for two months
as “a form of relief for our people” because “too many are jobless” and fear losing their
homes. The Board approved Pappas’ request at its virtual meeting today.
Pappas’ Office is to begin printing the Second Installment property tax bills for Tax Year
2019 in mid-June. The bills will be mailed to property owners at the beginning of July, but
will be posted at cookcountytreasurer.com almost two weeks before they arrive in the
mail.
“Unusual times demand extraordinary efforts from government to help people see what’s
coming and then help them handle it,” Pappas said. “We’re doing both by waiving
penalties and showing taxpayers the bills before they’re even mailed.”

Pappas available for interviews about plan to waive
interest on late Cook County property tax payments

WHO: Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas
WHAT: Availability for interviews about Cook County’s plan to waive interest for two
months on late payments of property taxes for the Second Installment, which is
scheduled to be due Aug. 3, 2020.
WHEN: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 13, 2020
WHERE: Room 212, Cook County Building, 118 N. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois
WHY: Waiving interest on late property tax payments for two months will give taxpayers

financial relief and more time to manage their finances.

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas to begin sending $25.4 million in automatic refunds to Cook County homeowners

Almost 11,500 property owners who overpaid their First Installment taxes will
automatically get back $25.4 million in refunds this month, Cook County Treasurer Maria
Pappas said today.
Almost 4,000 refunds go to homeowners who are receiving property tax exemptions. The
value of those exemptions is applied to the Second Installment tax bill, reducing the total
taxes due.
Pappas has tried to make homeowners aware of potential exemptions as she attends
community events throughout Chicago and suburban Cook County.
“The outreach efforts of my office, along with the Black and Latino Houses Matter
program, are helping homeowners become more aware of how they can reduce their
property tax burden,” Pappas said.
To see if you are receiving a portion of the refunds, visit cookcountytreasurer.com, select
the purple box labeled “Your Property Overview” and enter your address.
The refunds, which the Treasurer’s Office will begin issuing this week, include:
• 5,137 homeowners who paid their property taxes online or by check will see funds
electronically deposited to their bank or credit card accounts totaling $14.9 million
• 5,484 homeowners who paid their taxes through a bank/mortgage escrow account
will be mailed refund checks totaling $10.1 million
• 808 homeowners who paid taxes totaling $412,177 in cash and will be mailed a
refund application to ensure the proper party receives the refund
Pappas launched the automatic refund program in July 2018. Since then, 121,000
property owners have received about $82 million in refunds without having to fill out an
application.
As a reminder, Second Installment 2020 property taxes are due Friday, Oct. 1

DAN SVETOG MARDARIJA

С благословом Његовог Преосвештенства Епископа Лонгина, у суботу 15ог јула ове године, на дан Светог Мардарија, одржаће се још једном молитвена литија од Манастира Нова Грачаница до Манастира Светог Саве.
Литија почиње читањем молитве испред иконе Пресвете Богородице Тројеручице у Манастиру Нова Грачаница. Молимо све учеснике у литији да буду у храму до 5:30. Ко год може и жели нека понесе своју икону од куће. Литија је молитвени догађај и молимо све учеснике да се уздрже од политичких порука.
Литија је дужине 10 километара и прећи ћемо је за два и по сата лаганог хода. Литију ће обилазити возила с водом за оне којима буде потребно. Иста возила могу у било ком моменту отпремити назад оне који не могу даље.
Након литије у Манстиру Светог Саве, у павиљону преко реке ће бити служена Архијерејска Света Литургија у 9:30. После Литургије следи заједнички ручак.
Превоз ће бити обезбеђен назад у Манастир Нова Грачаница.
Ако имате питања позовите епархијску канцеларију на 847 223 4300

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With the blessing of His Grace Bishop Longin, on Saturday, July 16 of this year, on the Day of Saint Mardarije, we will once again make a prayerful procession from the New Gracanica Monastery to the Saint Sava Monastery.
Procession begins with the reading of the prayer before the Three-handed icon of the Mother of God at the New Gracanica Monastery. We ask all the participants in the procession to be in the church by 5:30am. Whoever wishes to bring their own icon from home is welcome to do so. Procession is a prayerful event and therefore we ask all participants to refrain from political statements.
Procession is 6 miles long and it will take two and a half hours of light walking to complete. Procession will be patrolled by vehicles with water. Same vehicles can drive back those who are not able to continue at any time.
After the procession, at the Saint Sava Monastery, in the pavilion across the river, there will be a Hierarchal Divine Liturgy at 9:30am. After Liturgy common lunch follows.
Transportation will be provided back to the New Gracanica Monastery.
If you have any questions please call diocesan office at 847 223 4300

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas will help military veterans and their families search for savings on their property tax bills during a Veterans’ Appreciation event Wednesday, Nov. 8, at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital with Black Men United.

Treasurer’s Office employees will be at the hospital, 5000 5^th Ave., Hines, IL, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. to help Cook County property owners learn about potential refunds by searching their addresses at cookcountytreasurer.com.

“Veterans are among the thousands of Cook County homeowners who might have overpaid their property taxes or who are entitled to money-saving exemptions,” Pappas said. “They need to know about these tax breaks so they can apply for these savings.”

The St. Ignatius College Prep band will perform at 11 a.m., pizzas donated by Garry Apelian of Apelian Carpet & Orientals will be served at 12:30 p.m., and Bloom ‘N Toss will hand out plants and flowers to visitors. Plants were donated by the family of the late Peter R. Knoble, 23, of Wilmette, a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Marine Corps who died in 2022.

Fresh produce will be distributed by Black Men United, a national community service organization that focuses on restoring and rebuilding Black communities.

Property tax relief includes exemptions for homeowners, senior citizens, lower-income “senior freeze,” people with disabilities, returning veterans and veterans with disabilities.

Property owners may be entitled to a share of $84 million in overpayments going back 20 years and up to $34 million for missed exemptions for the past four tax years.

Property owners can visit cookcountytreasurer.com and click on a purple box that says, “Your Property Tax Overview” on the home page. Visitors can search using their address or Property Index Number (PIN) and discover whether they are owed money.