Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas hosted the office’s Black and Latino Houses Matter Phone Bank on Wednesday with ABC 7 Chicago. The phone bank identified more than 1,400 cook county taxpayers who may be eligible to receive $3.3 million in property tax refunds and exemptions.
“I said we would do this as long as people need money,” said Pappas. “Wednesday’s phone bank shows us that they do. We’re both glad and humbled at the response.”
The “Black and Latino Houses Matter” phone bank was started by Pappas to help property owners receive unclaimed property tax refunds and help the owners avoid losing their property if they have a property tax delinquency. While the initiative was created to help taxpayers in predominantly black and brown communities, all Cook County Taxpayers are able to search for refunds and apply for exemptions.
“All Cook County homeowners are welcome to call the phone bank,” Pappas said. “We will do this as long as people have money coming to them.”
The last phone bank conducted by the Treasurer’s Office in December helped more than 1,500 taxpayers identify $3.5 million in potential refunds and missing exemptions. The first phone bank was held over a three-day stretch in March 2021. Over 6,000 thousand taxpayers were seeking $12.7 million in potential refunds.
The Treasurer’s website will help property owners, search for $84 million in available property tax refunds, check eligibility for $34 million in missing property tax exemptions and verify if your property is on the Tax Sale list with delinquent taxes.
“Since I started Black and Latino Houses Matter, we’ve returned nearly $200 million owed to these two minority groups,” Pappas said. “I am especially happy we are able to do this ahead of Juneteenth.”
Property owners who did not call the phone bank on Wednesday are urged to visit cookcountytreasurer.com.
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