Cook County homeowner gets answers after property tax bill skyrocketed from $1,800 to $30K

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. - A lot of homeowners in the south suburbs were in for a big shock last week when they received their property tax bills. 

One man FOX 32 spoke with said his bill skyrocketed more than 3,800 percent. 

Darryl Lloyd's property was assessed at over $1 million and the bill he received was more than $29,000 for the second installment.

That meant his taxes for the year were more than $30,000 for his two-bedroom, one-bath, one-story home.

Lloyd bought the $115,000 960-square-foot house in Chicago Heights in 2006 and paid it off. He said he would have been paying more for taxes than he did when he paid a mortgage.

FOX 32 followed up with the Cook County Assessor's Office, who said it was a big mistake.

Once the dust settled, Lloyd’s property tax bill went up from $1,800 in 2022 to $2,000 for 2023. He’s already paid the amount owed ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.

Though FOX 32 got him some answers, we learned he isn’t alone. 

Hundreds of people were in line at one of the assessor's satellite offices and not all homeowners in the south suburbs caught a break. 

The Cook County Assessor's Office inside Markham Courthouse had a line wrapped around the building.

People in line were questioning where their exemptions were and why their taxes went up, with some reporting a tax increase of 50 percent or more. 

Some mistakes found were being corrected on the spot.

The Cook County Assessor's Office is conducting a Facebook Live and YouTube Live session on Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

They will do a Q&A and will go over exemptions and the certificate of error process.