The study lays blame for the deterioration of many neighborhoods of color and the exodus of Blacks from Chicago on federal and banking policies called redlining, the practice of banks discriminating against racial minorities or certain neighborhoods. Treasurer Maria Pappas expects the study to be filed in the coming weeks with the county board and shared with the state Assembly and Gov. You have to pay the taxes when you don’t even own the home.” “By the time (properties) get to the sale, many are delinquent, decaying.

“The biggest problems are the liens on the property,” said Hal Dardick, the study’s author. Other recommendations include making lists of available property open to the public, pushing for legislation lowering the interest rate applied by Cook County to delinquent property tax payments and allowing property owners to make partial payments to satisfy tax liens. A nearly 80-year-old law intended to put distressed and tax-delinquent Chicago-area properties back to productive use has done little to improve or solve racial inequities in the city’s Black and Latino neighborhoods, according to a study.Ī report released Tuesday by the Cook County treasurer’s office proposes scrapping or modifying Illinois’ Scavenger Sale law in favor of tax-cutting and other programs that may allow homeowners of color to accumulate generational wealth.

Pinpoint property