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Created on January 15, 1931 by an act of the state legislature, Cook County was the 54th county established in Illinois and the first government officials were elected shortly thereafter on May 7, 1831. At present, Cook County has more than 800 local government agencies and organizations, making it the 19th largest county government in the United States. Pursuant to Article VII, Section 6 of the state constitution, Cook County is a home rule county that is governed by the 17 members of its Board of Commissioners that are elected to 4 year terms from single-member districts throughout the county.
In terms of population, Cook County is big – really big. In fact, excepting only Los Angeles County, California, Cook County has the largest population of any county in the United States today with a population of more than 5.2 million people. The population of Cook County is greater than 28 states as well as the combined populations of the seven smallest states in the country.
Cook County is also the home of the county seat in the City of Chicago which is likewise the third-most populous city in the U.S. (fully 40% of Illinois residents and 54% of county residents live here) and it is the state’s largest city. Besides Chicago, Cook County also contains 128 other municipalities in its 946 square miles of territory. The majority of the population of Cook County (about 85%) lives in suburban municipalities while the remainder lives in unincorporated areas of the county. Under the mandates of State of Illinois laws, the Cook County government has the primary responsibility for protecting individuals and property in the county as well as for the maintenance of all county highways and the provision for public health services.
Located in the northeastern corner of the state, the location of Cook County is depicted in the figure below.
Not surprisingly, with so many fun things to see and do, Cook County in general and Chicago in particular attract nearly 40 million visitors each year and the numbers continue to grow year to year. In fact, with two world-class zoos, dozens of museums, a planetarium, and thousands of eateries and entertainment venues, and much, much more, Cook County will likely remain the destination of choice for tens of millions of visitors in the years to come.
Because it is so large in terms of population as well as geography, one of the most important government officials in Cook County today is the assessor, Mr. Fritz Kaigi, whose role is described below.
As an elected government official, the Cook County Assessor has the responsibility to establish fair and accurate property valuation assessments 1.8 million parcels of property throughout the county. These assessments are conducted for ad valorem tax purposes and these valuations are used to determine the amount of taxes that must be paid on each of these parcels.
Because of the high number of parcels in Cook County, the assessor’s office performs reassessment of one-third of all properties located n the county each year (i.e., alternating between the northern suburbs, the southern suburbs and the City of Chicago). Rather than assess each of the 1.8 million parcels of property individually, the County Assessor’s Office uses the more efficient mass appraisal system in an effort to ensure complete fairness throughout the assessment process.
It is important to note, though, that the role of the Cook County Assessor extends to other responsibilities besides setting property values as well. For instance, besides collaborating with other county government agencies in order to stimulate job creation, economic development and develop additional affordable housing for county residents, the Cook County Assessor is also charged with assisting county residents in better understanding the assessment process in order to take advantage of the various money saving exemptions that are available.
In addition, the Cook County Assessor’s Office has assumed a lead role in developing short-term property tax relief initiatives as well as identifying opportunities to improve the overall restructuring of the Cook County tax system to make it more equitable for all county taxpayers. Further, the Cook County Assessor’s Office also maintains an online search portal that allows county taxpayers and other interested parties to find property records, values, sales histories, owner information, tax record data, property mortgage details and nearby sex offenders. In sum, the Cook County Assessor performs a wide range of vitally important services for the taxpayers of Cook County today.
Mr. Fritz Kaigi
118 North Clark Street
Third Floor, Room #320
Chicago, IL 60602
Telephone:
(312) 443-7550
Email:
https://www.cook countyassessor. com/Office/Contact-Us.aspx
Hours of operation:
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
118 N. Clark Street
Room 320 Chicago, IL 60602
Telephone:
(312) 443-7550
Email:
https://www.cook countyassessor. com/Office/Contact-Us.aspx
Hours of operation:
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
10200 South 76th Avenue
Room #237
Bridgeview, IL 60455
Telephone:
(708) 974-6451
Email:
https://www.cook countyassessor. com/Office/Contact-Us.aspx
Hours of operation:
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
16501 S. Kedzie Ave.
Markham, IL 60426
Telephone:
(708) 232-4100
Email:
https://www.cook countyassessor. com/Office/Contact-Us.aspx
Hours of operation:
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
5600 W. Old Orchard Rd.
Room #149
Skokie, IL 60077
Telephone:
(847) 470-7237
Email:
https://www.cook countyassessor. com/Office/Contact-Us.aspx
Hours of operation:
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
With more than 5.3 million county residents and 1.8 million parcels of land, the Cook County Assessor’s Office clearly has its work cut out for it. Fortunately for Cook County, Mr. Fritz Kaigi and his professional staff provide these services in a timely and equitable fashion, ensuring that the properties of all county residents are valuated accurately and fairly.