A first-time homeowner in Riverdale, Illinois, is facing a property tax bill of nearly $17,000 a year on a home she bought for $207,000. The new bill represents a jump of close to $2,000 a month over what she had been expecting. She told a local television station she may have to move.
According to FOX 32 Chicago, Tatiana Squire bought a renovated three-bedroom, two-bath home on Clark Street in Riverdale last year. She’s the first person in her family to own a home, other than her grandmother. She told the station she’d been hoping the move out of Chicago would give her two young sons more stability and a quieter neighborhood.
That changed in February, when Squire received a notice in the mail from the Cook County Assessor’s Office. The reassessment pushed her annual property tax bill from a level she could manage to about $17,000. The Cook County Assessor’s Office acknowledged in a statement to FOX 32 that a $13,000 property tax bill on a $200,000 home is not an acceptable outcome for the homeowner.
The Assessor’s Office said the problem is the local area’s tax rate, not its assessment. Riverdale’s effective property tax rate in Tax Year 2024 was around 27 percent, one of the highest in Cook County and the nation. Chicago’s effective rate, by comparison, is closer to 6 percent.
What Squire Says Happened
Squire’s house had sat vacant for years before being rehabilitated and sold. As mentioned, she said she had bought the home hoping to provide stability for her two young sons and a quieter life outside Chicago.
Squire’s real estate agent, Ronald Toussaint, told FOX 32 he had pulled tax bills on 45 properties in Riverdale that had closed before and after Squire’s home, and that hers carried the highest assessed taxes of any of them. Toussaint questioned whether the valuation of Squire’s property was consistent with similar homes in the area, and said no one moves to Riverdale expecting to pay $4,000 a month on a mortgage.
What the Cook County Assessor’s Office Said
In a statement to FOX 32 Chicago, the Cook County Assessor’s Office acknowledged that it is not an acceptable outcome for a homeowner to face a $13,000 property tax bill on a $200,000 property, and said the situation reflects broader pressures on homeowners in communities with high tax rates and rising property values. The office explained that Squire’s property had returned to the tax rolls in 2024 after selling for $207,000 and undergoing substantial renovations, and that under Illinois law, assessors are required to determine a property’s fair market value.
Analysts at the office reviewed multiple recently renovated homes in the area before setting the assessment. Comparable properties had sold for between $215,000 and $244,000 in recent years, including homes located on the same street and within blocks of Squire’s home.
The office also said plenty of neighboring properties haven’t yet been reassessed and continue to be taxed on older valuations. Those properties are expected to see assessment increases during Riverdale’s next reassessment cycle. The office emphasized that while it determines property values, it does not set local tax levies or tax rates.
With homeowner exemptions, the office said, Squire’s bill could be reduced from roughly $17,000 to about $13,000. That’s looking on the bright side, but it might be all Squire’s got right now.