CITY HALL — Only 5 percent of Chicagoans eligible for a property tax rebate designed to ease the burden of last year’s massive tax hike have asked city leaders for their money back, officials said Thursday.
Those rebates would cost the city $880,449, according to data released by city officials.
The average rebate for homeowners was $111.41, officials said.
The program offers rebates of $25-$200 to homeowners based on the increase in the city's portion of their most recent property tax bill and their household income. Senior citizens who are longtime homeowners could qualify for an additional rebate.
More than five weeks into the program, 7,903 Chicago homeowners have applied for the rebate, officials said.
When the effort was launched Oct. 1, city officials expected the rebate program would return $20 million to 155,000 households earning less than $75,000. The average rebate was expected to be $150, officials said.
Chicagoans have until Nov. 30 to apply — in person — for a rebate on their property taxes at one of 26 locations, including City Hall, officials said. Applicants must appear in person for the rebate because of sensitive nature of the documents required, officials said.
The rebate is designed to help residents cope with a $589 million property tax hike — the largest tax increase in Chicago history — touted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel as the only way to fill the city's massive deficit and shore up pensions for police officers and firefighters.
But Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) called that requirement a "tremendous inconvenience," especially for the low-income Chicagoans it is designed to help. She urged city officials to allow homeowners to apply using the internet or at ward offices.
In 2010, former Mayor Richard M. Daley earmarked $35 million for a property tax rebate. Because few homeowners bothered to apply, the city sent only $2.1 million back to homeowners.
To check whether you are eligible for the program, review the list of requirements.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.
