CHICAGO — Ald. Anthony Napolitano will open his office Monday to help residents apply for property tax rebates, his staff announced.
The alderman will have representatives of the city's budget office on hand between 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at his office, 7442 N. Harlem Ave., to help people apply for the rebate, which was designed to ease the burden of last year's massive tax hike.
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.
The deadline to apply was originally set for this week, but was pushed back to Dec. 31. As of Monday, city officials said only 7 percent of eligible Chicago homeowners had applied for the rebate.
The average rebate was $109, with a total of $1.2 million on its way back to homeowners, city officials said. The first checks will arrive in mailboxes this week.
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 must 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.
Since the nearest processing location to the 41st Ward is in Portage Park, Napolitano wanted to set up a more convenient space for his constituents, according to his chief of staff, Christ Vittorio.
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.
To check whether you are eligible for the program, review the list of requirements.
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