CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Pilsen and Little Village home property owners protested in the Loop Thursday morning over drastically rising property taxes in their neighborhoods.
“Pilsen’s not for sale; Pilsen’s not for sale,” they chanted.
The protesters first rallied outside the Cook County building, but they eventually made their way inside the Office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.
“We only wanted to ask Treasurer Maria Pappas for a moratorium until there can be some kind of agreement on a more fair system of tax assessments on our property values, because taxes were hiked exponentially,” said Pilsen resident Arturo Medina.
An analysis of tax bills released in 2022 found property owners in gentrifying Latino neighborhoods saw some of the biggest increases in Chicago.
“We know that big, commercial property owners were given tax breaks, and the tax burden was passed onto us,” Medina said.
As for the response from the treasurer’s office to the protesters:
“The only thing that they offered us was a business card with contact information, which is already available to the public,” Medina said. “They don’t even want to speak to us. They’re just telling us, ‘Treasure Pappas is not here.’”
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