Residential · Cook County
Your property taxes
went up. Again.
Most Cook County homes are over-assessed. When the Assessor’s number is too high, you pay more than you legally owe — sometimes thousands more per year, every year. Gertner & Gertner has helped Chicago-area homeowners challenge their assessments for 50 years. If there’s a case to be made, we’ll make it. If there isn’t, we’ll tell you.
The Reality
Over-assessment is the norm,
not the exception.
Cook County’s property tax system reassesses every home on a three-year triennial schedule. Assessors use mass appraisal models — they don’t walk through your house. They can’t account for your specific lot, your specific condition, your specific comparables, or your specific situation.
That’s not a criticism of the Assessor’s office. It’s a feature of how mass assessment works. It also means that in any given reassessment year, a significant portion of Cook County homes are assessed too high.
The system has a built-in correction: the appeal. If your assessment is out of line with what similar homes in your neighborhood are actually worth, you have the right to challenge it. Most homeowners never do.
How Residential Appeals Work
Three grounds. One goal.
Comparable sales
If homes similar to yours in your neighborhood have sold for less than your assessed value, that’s the strongest argument we can make. We pull recent sales and build a comp package that holds up.
Recent purchase price
If you bought your home recently and the purchase price is lower than your assessment, the sale itself is evidence. We present it correctly.
Uniformity
If your home is assessed higher per square foot than similar homes in your neighborhood, you have a uniformity argument. This is often the strongest case for older homes in gentrifying neighborhoods.
Our Process
Three steps. We do the work.
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01
Free consultation
You call us, we pull your assessment and the comparable sales in your area. Before your consultation call ends, we tell you honestly whether an appeal is worth filing.
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02
We prepare and file your appeal
If we take your case, an attorney at Gertner & Gertner prepares the evidence package and files your appeal with the correct office — Assessor or Board of Review — at the correct time for your township.
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03
We handle the hearing
If a hearing is required, we represent you. You don’t appear. You don’t submit anything yourself after hiring us. When the decision comes down, we notify you and explain what it means for your next tax bill.
Real Impact
What a successful appeal actually saves you.
10–20%
Typical residential reduction range in Cook County
$1,800
Annual savings on a $12,000 bill at 15% reduction
3 yrs
Savings compound until next triennial reassessment
A successful appeal doesn’t just lower this year’s bill. It resets the baseline from which your next reassessment is calculated.
Recent Results
Recent residential appeal results.
North Suburbs · Cook County
Single-Family Home
Lake View · Chicago
Single-Family Home
South Suburbs · Cook County
Single-Family Home
Results are anonymized representative examples from recent Cook County appeals. Individual results vary based on property type, assessment, and market conditions. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Our Fee
Contingency-based representation
since 1974.
Our fee is a percentage of the first-year tax savings we obtain on your behalf. There are no up-front charges, no retainer, and no filing fees. If we pursue an appeal and the matter does not result in a reduction, you owe no attorney’s fees.
This isn’t a promotion or trial offer — it’s how the firm has structured every property tax engagement for over 40 years.
50+
Years of Cook County appeals
Attorneys personally handle every case
$0
No fee unless we reduce your taxes
Cook County is our specialty
Frequently Asked
Residential appeal questions.
How do I appeal my Cook County property taxes?
Appeals must be filed with either the Cook County Assessor or the Cook County Board of Review during your township’s filing window — typically a 30- to 35-day window after reassessment notices are mailed. We handle the filing for you. If you’d like to do it yourself, the Assessor’s office allows online appeals for residential properties without an attorney; for the Board of Review and PTAB, representation by an Illinois-licensed attorney is required for most non-residential cases.
How long does a Cook County property tax appeal take?
Most residential appeals take between 3 and 12 months from filing to decision, with an average of about 6 months. The timeline depends on which office is handling your appeal, your township’s caseload, and whether a hearing is scheduled. Savings from a successful appeal appear on your second-installment tax bill the year following the appeal.
What if my appeal is unsuccessful?
If we file an appeal and don’t obtain a reduction, you owe us nothing — no filing fees, no attorney fees, no case-preparation fees. If an appeal is unsuccessful at the Assessor, we often have the option to re-file at the Board of Review. If unsuccessful at the Board of Review, there’s a further appeal to PTAB. We’ll tell you on the consultation call which level is the right starting point for your case.
Get Started · No Cost, No Obligation
Are you paying more than you owe?
A free consultation takes minutes.
We’ll tell you honestly if an appeal makes sense.
“No up-front fees. No filing fees.
You owe us nothing unless we obtain a reduction.”