Chicago is considering an increase in the transfer tax
The tax increase would apply to on any residential or commercial property sold for more than $1 million
List of Endangered Architectural Gems in Chicago
Promontory Point makes Preservation Chicago’s annual ‘most endangered’ list
“Today, the historic revetment at Promontory Point is all that is left of a once eight-mile-long stretch of beautiful limestone transitions between nature and the city,” Preservation Chicago said.

Eric Allix Rogers for Preservation Chicago
Promontory Point, one of the most beloved spots on the south shoreline of Lake Michigan, has been named to Preservation Chicago’s annual “most endangered” list.
The peninsula in Burnham Park is among eight historic buildings or public assets that made the list. It’s usually a list of seven, but the group threw in an additional site this year.
Built 84 years ago between 54th and 56th streets, Promontory Point’s revetment — limestone slabs forming giant steps along the water — has deteriorated over the years, thanks to rising waters and natural decay.
Now, Preservation Chicago contends, the city and Chicago Park District plan to tear out the limestone and replace it with concrete slabs, “destroying not only the historic stepstone revetment, but also the naturalistic aesthetic of this Alfred Caldwell-designed park,” Preservation Chicago said in its report. “This irreversible alteration will adversely affect the open and diverse community culture that has thrived for decades at Promontory Point, moving this historic site further away from its original design and setting a precedent for future unsympathetic alterations.”
Caldwell was an architect with the Chicago Park District and designed the landscape plan for Promontory Point.
According to the preservation group, the city has a history of replacing limestone along the lakefront with massive concrete and steel structures — everywhere except The Point.

Sun-Times file
“Today, the historic revetment at Promontory Point is all that is left of a once eight-mile-long stretch of beautiful limestone transitions between nature and the city,” Preservation Chicago said.
Preservation Chicago said despite its age, the revetment continues to protect the parkland behind it from the harsh waves of Lake Michigan, though major repairs are needed.
The advocacy group has recommended the city and Chicago Park District designate The Point as a Chicago landmark, making it nearly impossible for it to be demolished.
Preservation Chicago has made its list every year since 2003 to call attention to the risk facing not-yet-classified landmarks and what it would mean to lose such historic structures.
“It’s a somber time as we spotlight these remarkable endangered structures which cover so much area of the city,” said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. “The threats to our historic built environment are all across Chicago, but we have hope for our city that these places can be reused, repurposed and protected, making them a cornerstone to grow communities sensitively and holistically.”
Also on Preservation Chicago’s 2022 list:
Cabrini Row Houses, Lathrop Homes-South Campus and two non-residential buildings at Altgeld Gardens: The Chicago Housing Authority has demolished many of its buildings over the years, with the promise to attract more affordable housing — a promise not yet met, according to Preservation Chicago.
Instead, Preservation Chicago wants those parts of the Cabrini, Lathrop and Altgeld complexes restored and put back “into good use for the people.”

Ward Miller for Preservation Chicago
St. Martin de Tours: The Gothic structure at 5848 S. Princeton, was designed by architect Henry J. Schlacks for a Catholic parish in Englewood that at the time had a predominantly German congregation..
As the neighborhood changed, it continued to thrive for years as a parish with a mostly Black congregation. But it closed in 1989 and since then has remained untouched and suffered significant deterioration.

Eric Allix Rogers for Preservation Chicago
Central Park Theater: Preservation Chicago said this building at 3535 W. Roosevelt Rd. has contributed significantly to the arts and culture of North Lawndale from the time it opened in 1917.
It has been the home of House of Prayer Church of God in Christ since 1971. But over the past five decades, it has deteriorated and the list of needed repairs has grown immensely as the churches congregation has dwindled.

Deborah Mercer for Preservation Chicago
Peterson Avenue Mid-century Modern District: This two-mile stretch from North Park to West Ridge hosts an ensemble of Mid-century Modern architecture.
However, many of those buildings along Peterson Avenue are under threat of demolition, and many others already have been torn down.

Preservation Chicago
The Century and Consumers buildings: The Century at 202 S. State St. and the Consumers at 220 S. State St. are in the heart of the Chicago Loop and in the city’s Central Business District.
Despite that prime location, they are suffering from both low occupancy rates, as well as years of deferred maintenance, causing concern for their future.
The site has made the list before.
Preservation Chicago called the Century “a rare example Neo-Manueline” architecture, a Portuguese style that influenced architecture in the Midwest. And the Consumers building (foreground in picture) is clad in white architectural terra cotta, made in Chicago.

Eric Allix Rogers for Preservation Chicago
North DuSable Lake Shore Drive: The once “slow-paced, boulevard parkway” has morphed into a quasi-highway that has gradually removed its aesthetic of being a road Chicagoans can use to enjoy the city’s beautiful lakefront, the preservation group contends.
To prevent that situation from getting any worse, Preservation Chicago recommends rebuilding bridges and underpasses. It also opposes any further widening of the road to add more lanes.

Eric Allix Rogers for Preservation Chicago
Moody Triangle: This site in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood is bounded by Clark Street, North Avenue, and LaSalle Drive.
In it are three buildings that Preservation Chicago believes are threatened by looming redevelopment around the campus of Moody Bible Institute: the Wintrust Bank building, 100 W. North Ave; Moody Memorial Church, 1635 N. LaSalle Dr.; and Archway Standard Station/BP Service Station, 1647 N. LaSalle Dr.
Sun-Times file

Ward Miller for Preservation Chicago

City of Chicago Pensions Need More Reforms
Chicago pension debt drove city property taxes up 164% before COVID-19
City property taxes rose 30% faster than in suburban Cook County from 2000 to 2019. Record inflation in 2022 will bring increases statewide in 2023.
Chicago property taxpayers were asked for 164% more in the 20 years before COVID-19 hit, but the hikes really escalated in 2015 and more pain is expected as inflation drives up local governments’ abilities to ask for more.
And they will ask for more, because massive pension debts are forcing them to.
As homeowners pay their first Cook County property tax installment on March 1, 2022, a look back at how Chicago got to this point should start in 2015. That’s when former Mayor Rahm Emanuel set off a $543 million property tax hike, with all that new money going toward pensions. It’s also when city residents started seeing taxes grow nearly 30% faster than suburban Cook County residents.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has continued Emanuel’s tax-hike legacy. The average Chicago property taxpayer paid $255 extra in 2021, when city residents were collectively asked for $94 million more. Then in 2022 the average was hiked another $180 for a grand total of $76.5 million in new money.
But the pensions keep consuming: $2.3 billion of the $16.7 billion city budget in 2022. That is every dollar from Chicago’s $1.7 billion property tax levy, and then some. Total pension costs equal 21.4% of the city’s own-source revenue.
Despite eating more, the pensions are in desperate shape and perhaps the worst of any in Illinois. The eight funds Chicago taxpayers are responsible for hold $46.9 billion in unfunded liabilities, more pension debt than 45 U.S. states.
Broken down, that is $43,995 per household. Add in the pension debt for the five statewide systems, and each Chicago household is responsible for eventually paying $81,679 per household beyond current tax collections.
Those outside Chicago also carry a heavy property tax load, and more is coming. Because of runaway inflation, 2022 will be the first year local governments subject to tax caps will be able to raise property taxes up to the maximum 5% allowed by law.
Still, more property taxes going to pensions has not prevented local governments from owing $75 billion in pension debt. The statewide average state and local pension debt per household is $45,151.
Combined with the more than $144 billion in debt officially reported by the five statewide pension systems
While the state reports an improvement to $139.9 billion in fiscal year 2021 after strong market returnsexperienced by nearly all large pension funds, Moody’s Investors Service in late September 2021 reported debt in the five state systems at $312.6 billion. Moody’s uses more accurate accounting methods similar to those required in the private sector.
Chicago residential property tax collections across all units of government in the city were up 164% from 2000 to 2019.
Property taxes paid by homeowners within the city grew nearly 30% faster than property taxes in suburban Cook County during those 20 years. Suburban residential property taxes grew 116% while total residential property tax collections county-wide grew 133%.
While some of Chicago’s increase was driven by new property or growth in existing property tax values, the average homeowner still saw an 85% increase in their bill from 2000 to 2019. Since the record-setting 2015 property tax hike to pay for pension debt, the average Chicago bill has risen 27%. Prior to that hike, property taxes were on a lower trend from 2011 to 2014.
In 2019, the average Chicago homeowner paid $3,342 in property taxes on an average home value of $258,000 for an effective rate of 1.3%.
Even though total tax extensions – the amount of taxes requested by government units in a taxing area – grew slower in the suburbs, the bill paid by the average residential homeowner grew faster than in Chicago during the 20 years at 95.6%. This indicates the suburbs saw slower growth in taxable property value.
Pension debt is also a leading cause of municipal property tax increases outside Chicago, where many medium- and large-size cities face similar challenges keeping up with unaffordable retirement benefit structures.
However, Chicago median residential property tax bills have grown faster than the suburbs since 2015. The average suburban bill has grown roughly a third as fast as in Chicago since the 2015 pension property tax hike, at just 9.6% compared to Chicago’s 27%.
In 2019, the average Cook County suburban homeowner paid $5,971 in property taxes on a home valued at $246,600 for an effective rate of 2.4%.
Commercial property taxes grew slower across the board from 2000 to 2019, at 81% within Chicago and 54% in the suburbs. That could change soon with new assessment procedures put in place by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, which will cause business property taxes to rise faster.
Chicago’s pension spending is up nearly $1 billion just during the three years Lightfoot has been in office and nearly 500% since 2004 in nominal terms. Without significant reforms, it will continue to grow.
Because of restrictive legal interpretations of the Illinois pension clause, only a constitutional amendment can unlock meaningful reforms.
The Illinois Policy Institute has proposed a “hold harmless” constitutional amendment to allow for reductions in future benefit growth for current workers and retirees. It would still treat benefits earned for work already performed as an inviolable contract, but would clarify that adjustments can be made going forward to ensure pensions are sustainable and affordable.
Recent polling by the institute showed 61% of voters supported such an amendment, with broad bipartisan agreement. That represents enough support to pass at the ballot box, but first Springfield lawmakers must pass the amendment to give voters that chance.
Property taxpayers throughout Chicago and Cook County deserve the opportunity to vote on their best option for lasting relief.
Property Tax has Outpaced Inflation
Chicago property taxes nearly doubled in a decade
Chicago property taxpayers face a nearly 5% hike this year after a decade in which their bills nearly doubled. The city failed to capitalize on the COVID-19 stimulus windfall like others did.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, monetary and government stimulus that disproportionately benefited the wealthy led to higher stock prices and housing valuations. Booming markets and growing housing values, coupled with federal aid, boosted tax revenues for states and local governments.
While Chicago could have used the windfall to freeze property taxes, Chicagoans will have no such luck. This year, the city’s gross property tax levy will increase by another 4.9%. This tax increase will disproportionately hurt low-income, cash-strapped homeowners and renters. This is because the city’s budget includes large increases in debt service and pension payments.
Pension fund contributions are increasing by 24.7% from the prior year. That adds up to nearly $1 billion in pension spending increases since Lori Lightfoot became Chicago’s mayor. Over the decade, the city’s public pensions cost has increased 239%, despite spending for city services only growing 18% during that same period.
Although the city of Chicago, a home rule unit of government, is not subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, it has its own self-imposed property tax limitation. That annual property tax extension is limited to 5% or the increase in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. However, the city’s tax cap does not completely limit the total extension since some funds – such as bond funds and pension funds – and some of the tax base, such as new property, are excluded from the calculation.
With inflation topping 7% in 2021 – the highest in 40 years – the city’s property tax levy is likely to increase even more in 2022, and Chicagoans will face even larger property tax bills.
Historically, low-income families have paid an unfair share of property taxes. In addition, renters will also be negatively affected because landlords shift most of the increased tax burden to tenants. Given an 11.4% increase in housing values in 2021, due in large part to a shortage of housing units, many renters – and prospective buyers have been kept on the sidelines, and rents have increased. The increase in property taxes will push rents even higher.
Low-income Chicagoans are already feeling the inflation squeeze
For years, Chicagoans’ property tax bills have increased faster than home values and incomes, with lower income residents paying an unfair share of property taxes.
While the tax levy is set to increase by less than the increase in housing values this year, worker earnings adjusted for inflation fell in 2021.
Falling worker earnings mean that scheduled property tax increases will disproportionately hurt cash-strapped – liquidity constrained – families. In addition, it is renters who will suffer the most from the tax hikes because research shows that landlords shift most of the increased tax incidence to tenants.
In 2021, U.S. consumer prices rose by 7%. One third of that increase came from an increase in shelter costs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While housing prices increased by 11.4%, rents also increased by 8.5% in the Chicago area.
Pre-existing housing shortages and lagging construction contributed to bidding wars and rapid housing price increases that left many young families priced out of homeownership, resulting in them paying more rent.
Low-income households are already seeing a higher share of their income go to shelter, food and utilities. In addition, inflation has already wiped out any “excess” savings accumulated during the pandemic, and further price increases will disproportionately cause more pain for the have-nots than for wealthier Chicagoans.
Pension reform is progressive government policy
In 2022, Chicago’s pension costs will consume more than $2.3 billion of the city’s budget – 21.4% of the city’s own source revenue. Pension costs already exceed the city’s total property tax levy of $1.7 billion this year. Amending the Illinois Constitution to allow for adjustments to the future growth in pension benefits for current workers and retirees can accomplish at least one of two progressive objectives: increase city spending on its poorest residents, or stop further property tax hikes that disproportionately hurt low-income and middle-income families.
Chief Economist FEBRUARY 3, 2022
Ongoing spike in inflation is likely to drive an increase in Chicago property taxes next year.
Under a budget rule passed under Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2020, property taxes are tied to inflation. The federal cost of living numbers for December show a 7% increase in the national consumer price index from the previous year, according to federal Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released Wednesday.

That means property taxes are set to go up 5% next year — the ceiling Lightfoot set for a single-year jump.
The 2022 inflation-linked tax hike of 1.4% is set to bring in $22.9 million to help the city meet its woefully underfunded public pensions. That increase will cost the owner of a $250,000 home $18 a year.
It’s too early to say how much the increase linked to the 5% bump will cost homeowners, landlords and commercial property owners. Much depends on property assessments and the total size of the tax levy.
But if the mayor sticks with the formula, property taxes will certainly go up as she and aldermen are preparing to run for reelection in the spring 2023 city elections.
Lightfoot and council members are betting voters won’t punish them politically for the tax increase because it’s not likely to be spectacularly large, and it’s already built into the 2023 budget.
Back in 2020, Lightfoot pitched aldermen on the budget measure tying an annual tax increase to the consumer price index for decades by saying it would give the city and its taxpayers a degree of financial certainty, while sparing the City Council from having periodically to enact huge, unpopular hikes.
Lightfoot could opt to ask the council to deviate from the formula. A city spokeswoman did not respond to questions about whether Lightfoot might do so in the face of the 5% increase.
There’s also the matter of the inflation formula the mayor uses to set the annual tax adjustment, which then stays on the books, compounding in following years.
The Lightfoot administration chose to tie the change each year to the nationwide urban consumer price index rather than one the Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains for the Chicago area. The administration argued it makes sense to use the same inflation rate data employed in tax calculations by the Park District and Chicago Public Schools, even though the city can use whatever standard it wants as a home-rule entity.
Going back to 2012, the year-over-year December change to the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin CPI has just once exceeded the average for all U.S. cities, which includes inflation in pricier locales on the East and West coasts.
While the property tax hike based on the national figure was 1.4% in 2022, raising $22.9 million, the more local inflation rate increased by just 0.9% between December 2019 and December 2020, which would have raised taxes by $14.7 million this year.
The Chicago area’s inflation rate this year of 6.6% also lags behind the national figure, although that won’t make any difference to property tax payers for 2023 because of Lightfoot’s 5% ceiling on the tax increase in any single year.
The inflation number doesn’t tell the whole property tax story. For this year, property taxes will go up a total $76.5 million. In addition to the inflation-linked hike, there was an increase that raised $25 million to pay for Lightfoot’s capital spending plan, while another $28.6 million was raised through assessments on new properties.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Never spend the money until you have it in hand!
Federal guidelines may prevent Lightfoot from using relief money to pay down city debt
Interim rules list several things the federal aid can’t be used for — a list that includes “funding debt services.” That could derail a plan to use just over half of the $1.9 billion Chicago will receive to retire $465 million in scoop-and-toss borrowing and cancel plans to borrow $500 million more.
Chicago on the road to financial solvency, Lightfoot assures investors
The mayor also noted that more than half of the $1.9 billion in federal aid will be used to retire $965 million in scoop-and-toss borrowing — though she faces resistance from City Council members who call it a Wall Street bailout.
Assessor Kaegi addresses “Structural Racism” and other issues at the City Club





















City of Chicago passes tax increase and ties future increases to the CPI
City Council approves $12.8B pandemic budget
The closest vote — 29 to 21 — was on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to raise property taxes by $94 million, followed by annual increases tied to the consumer price index.