Park Ridge-area homeowners will shoulder the bulk of a nearly $744 million countywide property tax increase that outpaces inflation, according to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas' annual tax bill analysis released Monday, Aug. 24.

The total property tax demand across Cook County hit $19.9 billion for 2025, a 3.9% jump over the prior year and above the 3.1% regional inflation rate, according to the treasurer's report.

It marks the 32nd consecutive annual increase.

Homeowners will pay nearly $600 million of that new money. The remaining share falls on commercial and multifamily properties.

North suburban bills climb 6.7%

The steepest increases hit the north and northwest suburbs, the region that includes Park Ridge, where properties were reassessed in 2025. Home values there "significantly outpaced" commercial real estate, the Chicago Tribune reported, shifting an additional 2 percentage points of the tax base onto residents.

The median homeowner's bill in the northern suburbs climbed 6.7% to $8,007. The median commercial building bill, by contrast, dropped 3.5% to $28,253.

After appeals and homeowner exemptions, the residential share of the north suburban tax base rose to 64.5%, up from 62.4% the year before. It is the fifth straight year the higher burden has landed on homeowners rather than businesses, driven by high office vacancy rates and soaring home values since the pandemic.

Pappas points to low-turnout referendums

In a statement accompanying the report, Pappas said local governments must cut spending and urged voters to show up at the polls.

North and northwest suburban residential taxes increased at more than triple the inflation rate, she said, driven in part by tax-hike referendums approved in off-year elections by an average of one in five eligible voters.

Nearly all taxing agencies across the county raised their levies this year. About 60% increased them by more than the 3.1% inflation rate.

Bills arrive Sept. 1, due Oct. 1

Of the 1.8 million bills set to hit mailboxes Sept. 1, about 1.3 million residences and 100,000 businesses will see an increase. Homeowners can look up individual bills at cookcountytreasurer.com once they are mailed.

Bills are due Oct. 1, roughly two months later than the typical July cycle. The delay stems from the county's troubled property tax system upgrade, which has ballooned to approximately $63 million, more than double its original budget.