Smaller property bills for Harvey, Chicago Heights

About nine in 10 homeowners in Harvey will get lower real estatetax bills in the mail this week than they got last year.

Eighty percent of homeowners in Chicago Heights will likewise payless, as will 60 percent of homeowners in Palos Township, Cook CountyAssessor Jim Houlihan said Monday.

The reason taxes are going down for those homeowners is the 7percent cap on assessments that Houlihan and Mayor Daley havechampioned in Springfield, Houlihan said. The law diffuses the taxbite away from neighborhoods that have seen rapidly increasingvalues.

But Houlihan warned that unless state legislators renew the cap,Chicago homeowners could see their assessments jump through the roof -- 90 percent or more -- next year when his office completes itsreassessments of the city. Cook County is reassessed in thirds: thesouth and west suburbs last year; the city this year; and the northsuburbs the following year.

House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) and his allies voted downthe cap's renewal after a state study found the cap shifted the taxburden from homeowners to businesses, landlords and other homeownerssuch as senior citizens who take advantage of the senior freeze.

Houlihan disputes those findings. But the state's chamber ofcommerce and apartment owners say they've proven the program isflawed.

Daley says the tax cap is the answer to soaring real estate taxbills. But his political muscle has not yet been enough to get thecap renewed in Springfield. There is still time in the fall vetosession or next year's session, Houlihan said.

HIKES ON SOUTH, WEST SIDES

Also Monday, Houlihan released projections of Chicago home valuesthat will be released next year.

Properties in more affordable South and West Side neighborhoodsare expected to have the highest percentage increases in value. ButHoulihan foresees modest increases for real estate values in LincolnPark, Lake View and the South Loop.

Higher assessments do not automatically translate into higher taxbills because the burden is distributed among all properties in thecounty.

apallasch@suntimes.com