Find out if your tax bills have been returned at cookcountytreasurer.com

To help homeowners who have mail-delivery problems, cookcountytreasurer.com now shows when tax bills have been returned by the U.S. Postal Service, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said today.

“Property owners who don’t receive their tax bills often face interest charges for late payments and even see their properties go up for sale for delinquent taxes,” Pappas said. “It’s an unnecessary waste of time and money, and it’s unfair.”

A team in the Treasurer’s Office has reduced the number of properties with incorrect mailing addresses to 63,500, down from 86,200 two years ago.

To see if your tax bills have been returned, visit cookcountytreasurer.com and:

• Select the purple box, “Your Property Tax Overview”
• Enter your address or Property Index Number (PIN)
• Look for a red warning box that pops up if your bills have been returned
• Update your mailing information if it is incorrect
• Choose “eBilling” if you wish to receive your bill by email

Pappas: There’s help for senior citizens struggling to pay Cook County property taxes

• Seniors
• Property Taxes

Cook County Treasurer's Office - 12/14/2018

With prescription prices and utility bills rising faster than Social Security payments, a tax-relief program can help senior citizens who are hard-pressed to pay their property taxes, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said today.

Seniors whose annual household income is $55,000 or less can apply to the Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferral Program for loans to cover property tax payments.

“When property taxes are due, too many of our elderly are forced to make difficult choices about which bills to pay,” Pappas said. “This program is one way to ease their worries.”

The State of Illinois issues the loans, which do not have to be repaid until the property is sold or the homeowner dies. An interest rate of 6 percent per year is charged by the state. The maximum loan is $5,000 per year. To qualify, homeowners must be at least 65 years old by June 1 of the year in which the application is made.

To apply:

• Download the application from cookcountytreasurer.com
• Submit the completed application and copies of the required documents to the Treasurer’s Office
• The deadline is March 1, 2019. Applications after that date cannot be accepted
• Homeowners must reapply every year

Lightford's Saturday University celebrates 6th year

• Saturday University

Illinois Senate Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) last week celebrated another successful semester of Saturday University, a program run in partnership with The Black Star Project.

The Black Star Project is committed to improving the quality of life in Black and Latino communities of Chicago and nationwide by eliminating the racial academic achievement gap, and Saturday University is a comprehensive learning system designed to improve the academic performance of Chicago's children.

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The Loretto Hospital launches new clinical trials research program

The Loretto Hospital announced today that it now hosts FDA-approved clinical trials. Each clinical trial will be coordinated through the hospital’s new Clinical Research Department in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies. Current trials include sickle cell disease (SCD) and heart disease studies. Additional research studies include Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis. The Loretto Hospital will be the first safety-net hospital in the State of Illinois to host clinical trials.

“The Loretto Hospital is one of the very few safety-net hospitals to offer clinical research. Our goal is to bring these type of programs to the Austin Community which will help improve outcomes in our community. Clinical Research will increase the discovery and development of better prevention, diagnostic and treatment methods of our patient,” said Dr. Anosh Ahmed, chief operating officer and medical officer at The Loretto Hospital.

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