CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A Cook County Treasurer’s report on property tax bills confirmed what some Latino elected officials have been fearing — and railing against — for years.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) was not surprised to see property taxes decrease in some struggling African American neighborhoods, while sharp increases hit working class, Latino areas like Pilsen and Little Village.
Sigcho-Lopez said he agrees with Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, who released a report on the county’s property taxes on Thursday. The report cited gentrification as a reason why in the predominantly Latino Lower West Side neighborhood, for example, the median homeowner’s tax bill increased 46% from 2020 to 2021.
Corruption was also to blame, though, Sigcho-Lopez said.
“Well, we have a system that is designed to favor and provide incentive for developers — who then later pay to play and pay attorneys and the people with clout — and leave communities like ours hanging,’ Sigcho-Lopez said. “It is unacceptable.”
He said City and State officials need to seriously address the problem so working class people don’t continue to be driven out.
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