Commissioner Michael Cabonargi

12/02/2022

Today is my last day as Commissioner at the Cook County Board of Review and I just wanted to send a quick goodbye note to express my immense gratitude for my time here.

I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the past 11 (!) years. We hired and trained a team of attorneys and real estate professionals; built an award-winning digital appeals processing system; translated our forms and documents into Spanish, Polish, Korean and Mandarin; held more than 400 outreaches where people could file their tax appeal in their own neighborhood on their own schedule; created the Surviving Spouse Tax Abatement program, where we refund their Cook County and Chicago property taxes to the surviving spouse of fallen police, fire and emergency officers; and overall served the taxpayers with integrity and hard work.

The Board of Review staff's dedication doesn't get the recognition it deserves, but I've watched as we've helped millions of Cook County homeowners and property owners and the schools and local governments they rely on. I'll keep watching from the sidelines and cheering them on.

Once again, thank you.

Best,

Mike

11/16/2022

North Shore residents: Northfield township’s window for Property Tax Assessment Appeals is open now. Join us TONIGHT and file your appeal.

Join BOR Commissioner Mike Cabonargi, Commissioner Scott Britton State Senator Laura Fine State Senator Julie Morrison Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and Robyn Gabel for State Representative.

Property Tax Appeal Filing Event

Wednesday November 16th, 2022
6:00-7:00 P.M.
Glenview Public Library (Community Room East)
1930 Glenview Rd
Glenview

Click here to file or learn more:
https://www.cookcountyboardofreview.com/

11/15/2022

North Shore residents: Northfield township’s window for Property Tax Assessment Appeals is open now. Join us Wednesday night and file your appeal.

Join BOR Commissioner Mike Cabonargi, Commissioner Scott Britton State Senator Laura Fine State Senator Julie Morrison Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and Robyn Gabel for State Representative

Northfield Township assessments are going up and Cook County is now open for 2022 property tax appeals. Join us tomorrow night Wednesday Nov. 16th 6-7 pm at Glenview Public Library (Community Room East) 1930 Glenview Rd. and file your property tax appeal or learn more.

North Shore taxpayers are receiving their triennial property reassessment and many residents are seeing large increases in their proposed Assessed Value. This is your chance to file an appeal and try to lower it. More than 50 % of residential appeal filers win their appeal and see their property taxes lowered.

Property Tax Appeal Filing Event

Wednesday November 16th, 2022
6:00-7:00 P.M.
Glenview Public Library (Community Room East)
1930 Glenview Rd
Glenview

Click here to file or learn more:
https://www.cookcountyboardofreview.com/

11/09/2022

Evanston and North Shore residents - join the City of Evanston Illinois Government property tax appeal event with Commissioner Larry Suffredin, BOR Commissioner Michael Cabonargi and State Senator Laura Fine Robyn Gabel for State Representative State Representative Kelly Cassidy. All townships are open for appeal.

Evanston Township assessments are going up and Evanston is now open for 2022 property tax appeals. Join us tonight Wednesday Nov. 9th 6-7 pm at Morton Civic Center (Parasol Room) 2100 Ridge Evanston and file your property tax appeal or learn more.

Evanston taxpayers are receiving their triennial property reassessment and many residents are seeing large increases in their proposed Assessed Value. This is your chance to file an appeal and try to lower it. More than 50 % of residential appeal filers win their appeal and see their property tax assessments lowered.

Property Tax Appeal Filing Event

Wednesday November 9th, 2022
6:00-7:00 P.M.
Morton Civic Center (Parasol Room)
2100 Ridge
Evanston

Click here to appeal online: https://appeals.cookcountyboardofreview.com/

11/04/2022

Village of Niles - Municipality Mayor George Alpogianis and State Senator Laura Murphy kicked off appeals season last night at Niles Senior Center. Maine and Niles Township residents, if you missed it there is still plenty of time to appeal that new reassessment!

Click here to file:
https://appeals.cookcountyboardofreview.com/

11/03/2022

Maine and Niles, appeal that new reassessment with us tonight in Niles at the Senior Center!

All of Cook County is now open for 2022 property tax appeals. Join the Village of Niles - Municipality Maine Township Peter Silvestri , County Commissioner State Rep Mike Kelly State Senator Laura Murphy and BOR Commissioner Mike Cabonargi tonight Thursday Nov. 3rd 6-7 pm at Niles Senior Center (Room 127) 999 Civic Center Dr. Niles and file your property tax appeal or learn more.

Niles and Maine Township taxpayers are seeing their triennial property reassessment and many residents are seeing large increases in their proposed Assessed Value. This is your chance to file an appeal and try to lower it. More than 50 % of residential appeal filers win their appeal and see their property tax assessments lowered.

10/27/2022

Leyden Township residents! Appeal your new property tax reassessment tonight at 6 at the Franklin Park Community Room. Many homeowners have seen large increases in their Assessed Values. This is your chance to appeal your new proposed assessment.

10/18/2022

Norridge and Harwood Heights residents - appeal your new property tax reassessment. Join us tonight at 6 at the Sieb Center and file your property tax assessment appeal.

Thanks to Village of Norridge Peter Silvestri , County Commissioner Senator Robert Martwick and State Representative Brad Stephens for setting this up.

10/12/2022

Harwood Heights and Norridge taxpayers - you can appeal your new property tax reassessment with us! We are holding events this week and next week in Harwood Heights and Norridge. Join us tonight at 6 p.m. at Harwood Heights Rec Center with Village of Harwood Heights Mayor Arlene Jezierny, Peter Silvestri , County Commissioner and Senator Robert Martwick.

or next Tuesday 10/18 in Norridge at the Sieb Center.

10/03/2022

Thank you Polish American Association for setting up another great Polish-English property tax appeal event at St. Hyacinth with another big crowd. It's incredibly important that Cook County taxpayers be able to navigate our property tax system in the language they are most comfortable with. Thank you to 30thwardchicago State Senator Cristina H Pacione-Zayas State Rep. Will Guzzardi - 39th District and all our elected partners for helping to make this event a success.

09/30/2022

Dziękuję Ci za wszystko Polish American Association 30thwardchicago Bridget Degnen Peter Silvestri , County Commissioner Senator Robert Martwick State Senator Cristina H Pacione-Zayas State Representative Lindsey LaPointe Jaime Andrade, State Representative, 40th District State Rep. Will Guzzardi - 39th District

09/30/2022

Join us Saturday at 3 at St Hyacinth, file your appeal and get your questions answered in Polish or English - in partnership with Polish American Association Ald Reboyras Bridget Degnen Peter Silvestri , County Commissioner Senator Robert Martwick State Senator Cristina H Pacione-Zayas Jaime Andrade, State Representative, 40th District State Rep. Will Guzzardi - 39th District State Representative Lindsey LaPointe.

09/30/2022

Did You Know?

The appeal portal for Cook County homeowners is now open. If you are a homeowner in Cook County and think your property taxes are too high after your assessment you are eligible.

3 Ways to File An Appeal:
1️⃣ File online (the easiest) Go to http://ow.ly/PAOn50Kw0nG
2️⃣ File in person
3️⃣ Attend an Outreach Seminar sponsored by the Commissioners

09/26/2022

There are three types of hearings that are brought to the Board of Review. Residential 🏠 Commercial 🏦 & Condominiums 🏭

The difference between the three? As a residential or condo owner, you can represent yourself before the Board, whereas commercial and industrial owners have to be represented by a lawyer.

09/23/2022

Did you know that property tax reductions have historically been granted to residential and commercial properties at roughly the same rate, a little over half of the time?

With or without a lawyer, you have the right to appeal your property taxes for FREE as a property owner with the Board of Review.

09/19/2022

Accessibility and efficiency to ALL taxpayers has been a forefront of the work at the Board of Review. No matter what community you live in or language you may speak.

We have made it a priority to stand by that mission and translate workshop materials so that they are multilingual friendly to include Polish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Korean.

09/16/2022

Did You Know?

If you are an a homeowner, senior citizen, veteran, and person with disabilities, you may be able to save money on your tax bill by applying to one of these excemptions:

1️⃣ Homeowner Exemption: provides tax relief by reducing the equalized assessed valuation (EAV) of a primary residence.

2️⃣ Senior Citizen Exemption: provides tax relief by further reducing the EAV of a senior citizen’s primary residence.

3️⃣ Returning Veterans’ Exemption: Veterans returning from active duty in armed conflict are eligible to receive a reduction in the EAV of their property for the tax year they return and the year following.

4️⃣ Disabled Veterans’ Exemption: Veterans with a service connected disability as certified by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs are eligible for this annual exemption.

5️⃣ Disabled Persons’ Exemption: provides disabled persons with an annual reduction in the equalized assessed value (EAV) of the property.

09/14/2022

Weekly Appeal Update:

Over the last 7 days, our staff reviewed and completed over 11,500 appeals 👏

09/12/2022

Cook County Property Tax Portal

Whether you are a commercial or residential appellant, our system provides the property owner transparency with our analyst notes, evidence and decisions on our online portal:

Cook County Property Tax Portal

09/07/2022

And just like that, we have reviewed and completed over 80% of all the appeals that have been submitted. I can't thank the BOR staff enough for all their hard work!

09/07/2022

Widow/widowers of fallen first responders including soldiers, police officers, fire firefighters and rescue workers can get up to 100% of their county property taxes waived under the Surviving Spouse Ordinance.

We believe when a spouse is lost in the line of duty, their loved ones should be able to grieve without worrying about paying the bills.

08/10/2022

Late property tax bills in Cook County will be due by year’s end; Preckwinkle announces loan program for towns and schools that need those revenues to operate

"..thanks to the late bills, Cook County cities and villages, along with fire, library and school districts, will have to wait to get property tax revenues that they use to pay for ongoing operations."" Chicago Tribune

Thanks to the Cook County Board and Toni Preckwinkle, the Local Government Bridge Funding Program could provide up to $500 million in loans to taxing districts, and of that only an estimated $5 million out of pocket from the county.

Tax bills are later than they've been in years and it remains unclear when they will be sent.

07/01/2022

While this is not the outcome we hoped for, I accept the voters’ decision. Eleven years ago when Chief Judge Timothy Evans appointed me to the Board of Review and I left my job as an SEC prosecutor, I knew the Board needed sweeping reform and modernization, and I was excited and motivated by that challenge.

I’m extremely proud of the transformation my staff & I have accomplished, from digitizing the appeals process to create a transparent, accessible system; to partnering with community, faith/labor leaders to create an outreach program to help homeowners file their own appeals; to making appeals forms, materials and videos available in five languages; to authoring the Board's first Ethics Policy and hiring our first Ethics Officer; to hiring a professional staff that reflects the diversity of Cook County and the people we serve.

All of these reforms have cut back on unnecessary bureaucracy and made it easier for taxpayers to appeal their property taxes.
Because I've been saying it for more than a decade: people should pay only their fair share in property taxes - and not a penny more.
To those ends, for the remainder of my term, I will continue to focus on ensuring the smooth operations of the Board and helping to ensure our plans to do our part to get the 2021 tax bills out this year.

I've spent my career in public service. I've worked for two U.S. Senators, clerked for a federal judge, fought corruption and fraud as a federal prosecutor and most recently served as Commissioner of the Board of Review. Whatever I do next, I want to continue to help people.

A special thank you to Erin, Will and Jack. I love you with all my heart. Thanks for sharing me with the Second District.

06/23/2022

As we gear up for the 2022 appeals season, we want to thank
시카고한인회 The Korean American Association of Chicago. We're looking forward to another great event at the Salvation Army and continuing our partnership making our events and our materials accessible!

06/23/2022

Photos from Commissioner Michael Cabonargi's post

06/22/2022

So proud Team Cabonargi is going to be honored as a key partner at Polish American Association's upcoming PAA 100-year anniversary celebration for our Polish community outreach program. We see you as a key partner too! Hosting hundreds of people at our annual PAA St. Hyacinth Basilica event is the highlight of our summer!

"The Polish American Association would like to recognize the efforts and accomplishments of Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Michael Cabonargi and his staff towards the clients of the Polish American Association and the Immigrant Community of Cook County.

Since taking office as a Commissioner of the Cook County Board of Review, Mike Cabonargi and his team have done tremendous work within the Polish community in Chicago and Cook County at large.

The community outreaches organized by Commissioner Cabonargi and his staff have made the property tax assessment process open, transparent, and most importantly, accessible to a community that had been all shut out of the appeals process due to language barriers. By translating materials into Polish and having the outreaches in their native language, his office helped to open the property tax appeals process to the Polish community.
Commissioner Cabonargi’s emphasis on continued education of the community about the right and ability to file for property tax relief on their own has allowed thousands of homeowners to seek relief that they are entitled to.

With Best Regards

Grazyna Zajaczkowska
Director of Immigrant Services
Polish American Association"

06/17/2022

We are so proud our website & online filing system, DAPS, were nominated for a 2022 Digital Government Award for ease of use. BOR is a finalist in the Digital Government Experience category. Cook County Board of Review is the only property tax agency in the country nominated for any award category.

Don't know what the fuss is with DAPS? Set up your account here & take advantage of a seamless, intuitive and user-friendly online appeals process that allows you to view and track appeals, look up previous filings, upload documents for current appeals & alerts you when you have deadlines.

https://appeals.cookcountyboardofreview.com

05/31/2022

Northwest Side residents, just because you missed our tax appeal webinar with your alderman and legislators last Tuesday doesn't mean you can't still file an appeal on your property tax assessment!

TONIGHT is the deadline to file! Click here to file your appeal.
https://appeals.cookcountyboardofreview.com/

With Alderman Andre Vasquez, 40th Ward Chicago 39th Ward Alderman Samantha Nugent Chicago's 35th Ward Alderman Alderman Anthony Napolitano Alderman Jim Gardiner Alderman Debra Silverstein, 50th Ward Bridget Degnen Senator Robert Martwick State Representative Lindsey LaPointe State Representative Brad Stephens

05/31/2022

Niles Township residents, you may have missed our event at Skokie Library last Wednesday with State Senator Ram Villivalam State Senator Laura Fine State Rep Mike Kelly Village of Niles - Municipality Village of Skokie and Representative Denyse Stoneback but you can still file your appeal on your property tax assessment.

But TODAY is the deadline. Get that appeal filed by tonight!

https://appeals.cookcountyboardofreview.com/

05/27/2022

Our 38th Ward team always gets a full house to the Father Stokes Center for one of our biggest events of the year and last night was no exception!

Thank you Alderman Nicholas Sposato Senator Robert Martwick State Representative Lindsey LaPointe and Peter Silvestri , County Commissioner for all your hard work getting the word out that taxpayers can appeal for free directly with the Board of Review!

Missed the event? Northwest Side residents can file online through the end of the month.
https://appeals.cookcountyboardofreview.com/

05/26/2022

Photos from Jaime Andrade, State Representative, 40th District's post

05/24/2022

Photos from State Senator Cristina H Pacione-Zayas's post

05/24/2022

Photos from State Representative Lindsey LaPointe's post

05/24/2022

‼TODAY‼ Our neighbors in Jefferson Township may join Commissioner Michael Cabonargi to learn how to appeal their latest property tax assessment. The deadline to appeal is May 31 - learn from the experts how to appeal at tonight's free seminar. I hope to see you there!

05/24/2022

Photos from State Rep Theresa Mah's post

05/24/2022

Photos from Bridget Degnen's post

05/19/2022

Great to get before a full house at Skokie Public Library in Village of Skokie for the first time in a long time last night. Special thanks to State Senator Ram Villivalam State Senator Laura Fine State Rep Mike Kelly Representative Denyse Stoneback and all our sponsors for getting the word out.

Miss it? Niles Township taxpayers you can still file online here through the end of the month (5/31) : https://appeals.cookcountyboardofreview.com/.