More than 53,000 Cook County homeowners to get property tax refund

COOK COUNTY (WLS) -- Do you own a home in Cook County? You could be entitled to a property tax refund.

The Cook County Treasurer's Office will issue $19.5 million in refunds to 53,000 homeowners because of changes to property tax benefits that affected bills due Aug. 1, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said Friday.

Legislation passed last year by the Illinois General Assembly increased existing tax benefits for homeowners and senior citizens. The exemptions eliminated any balance due Aug. 1 and created refunds for payments made earlier this year, Pappas said.

The 36,000 homeowners who paid their property taxes by check or paid online will receive credit to their bank accounts or credit cards by Aug. 15. The 15,000 homeowners who paid through a bank or mortgage escrow account will be mailed a refund check by Oct. 15. The 2,000 homeowners who paid in cash will be mailed a refund application by Aug. 15, to make sure the right person receives their refund.

To see if you are due a refund, visit cookcountytreasurer.com, click on the purple box that says "Your Property Overview" and enter your address or Property Index Number (PIN).

Letters explaining why the treasurer's office is issuing these refunds will be mailed by Aug. 9, Pappas said.