#642 Online: Property tax foreclosures in Cook County

Since 2019, more than 1,000 Cook County homeowners have lost their homes and home equity to investors — called tax buyers — through property tax foreclosure. Collectively, these homeowners owed $2.3 million at the time they fell behind on tax bills but lost $108 million in the estimated market value of their homes when investors foreclosed. A joint investigation by Injustice Watch and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity found these losses of homes and of wealth are disproportionately concentrated in Black community areas.

Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that it’s unconstitutional for states not to guarantee tax foreclosed homeowners a return of that home equity, which often represents an individual’s largest asset and, for many, a source of generational wealth. Even following this ruling, however, Illinois lags behind all other states in reforming its tax foreclosure laws. In this presentation, reporters Emeline Posner and Carlos Ballesteros will share insights into Illinois’s tax foreclosure laws, and the data and archival records they drew on to understand the impacts of that system here in Cook County.

Read the full article here, and our follow-up on a delay in passing reforms here.

Reporters Emeline Posner and Carlos Ballesteros will discuss their reporting and impact.