OFFICE OF THE COOK COUNTY TREASURER Maria Pappas – INFO

Pappas: Auction of delinquent Cook County
property taxes postponed indefinitely

A Cook County Circuit Court Judge has postponed the Annual Tax Sale of delinquent
properties scheduled to begin May 8, 2020, because of the spread of the new
coronavirus, Treasurer Maria Pappas said today.

In an emergency motion, Pappas asked for the delay to protect the health and safety of
Cook County residents in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The judge granted the
motion, postponing the Tax Sale until the court orders the sale to proceed.

“Holding the Tax Sale under these circumstances would be unfair to tens of thousands
of homeowners who are living paycheck-to-paycheck and face this pandemic” Pappas
said.

There are more than 52,000 properties whose delinquent taxes would be sold to
investors if the Tax Sale were held, Pappas said. Of those properties:
 More than 30,000 are homes
 More than 23,000 owe less than $1,000
 About 2,000 are owned by senior citizens

Postponing the Tax Sale would delay payment of an estimated $48 million in property
taxes that would have been collected during the sale. That’s a fraction of the $14 billion
the Cook County Treasurer’s Office collects each year.

The Treasurer’s Office is required to put delinquent taxes up for auction, the first step in
a legal process that can end with the loss of property if the taxes are not repaid. When it
takes place, the Tax Sale will be for homes, businesses and land with unpaid bills for
Tax Year 2018 (originally due in 2019).