Assessment error increased local Navy vet's property tax bill by more than 500%, I-Team finds

UNINCORP. ELGIN, Ill. (WLS) -- Property taxes are due on Tuesday in Cook County.

Navy Veteran James Duhr, of unincorporated Elgin, says his property taxes on a vacant parcel of land he owns near his home soared by more than 500%.

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"I would have lost my house," Duhr said.

The property, which has a separate PIN from his home, shot up from about $2,500 dollars a year to $15,000 dollars a year.

"I panicked. I didn't know how I was going to afford it," Duhr said.

Duhr says he appealed with the Cook County Assessor's Office but got stuck in limbo.

"Well, they told me I had to wait, so I waited patiently and then I kept checking in to find out what was the status and everything," Duhr said.

When he thought something was not adding up, he called the ABC 7 I-Team.

"I wasn't getting any answers until I called you," Duhr said.

To make matters more difficult, Duhr says his lender, Freedom Mortgage, had been paying the huge tax bill out of his escrow. Experts say that is industry practice to avoid a tax sale, but Duhr says he was not notified that the lender was paying until the third cycle of billing, which put his escrow in a negative balance. His mortgage payments also jumped.

"It jumped from $2,981 to $6,527... I had to borrow money from my 401K," Duhr said.

ABC7 reached out to Freedom Mortgage, but did not immediately hear back. However, the root of the problem was with the county and the tax bill, so ABC7 reached out to the Cook County Assessor's Office, asking why the bill went up so much and if it was a mistake.

Within weeks, the assessor's office issued certificates of error. Duhr will now get a refund covering most of that increase. He says he was told the lot was classified incorrectly.

"Well, what happened was, they were super motivated to fix. My problem is, what happened? Yes, I got my certificate. I got my certificate of error fixed. I have a proposal of what's going to happen on paper, but I'm not going to be able to receive my funds for 60 more days," Duhr said.

The assessor also combined a separate parcel of land with a barn with the vacant land to help solve the issue. A spokesperson told the I-Team, "The Assessor's Office determined that the parcels that make up this property were split between two assessment areas with different land rates. We have now placed all parcels in the same area and issued Certificates of Error to reflect this change."

"I'm very happy. I'm very happy. I'll be even happier when I get my money back. Then I could reinstate my escrow and then get on with my life," Duhr said.

Duhr's refund should be processed in the next several weeks.

If you believe you are dealing with an error, reach out to the county assessor about getting a "certificate of error."

If you think your assessments are too high, you must go through the appeals process.