Program Overview
Ken Davis is joined by the Chicago Tribune’s investigative reporter Jason Grotto. They discuss Grotto’s multi-part series, a year in the reporting, about the inherent inequities in the Cook County property tax assessment system. Grotto describes situations in which homes in lower-income communities are most often assessed at higher values than sales numbers would indicate, while in high-income areas, homes are most often under-valued. These inequities result in poorer people paying a vastly higher tax rate than wealthier people. And they have spawned a vigorous industry of tax-appeal law firms which win appeals by overwhelming numbers, although their services are used disproportionately by homeowners in wealthier neighborhoods. This program was produced by Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV).