Cook County launched its Homeowner Relief Fund on Monday, a $15 million program to financially support households that have seen a significant increase in property tax bills in recent years.
The program will issue one-time $1,000 payments to eligible households under the direction of the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development.
The application portal opened Monday and will remain open until Oct. 10 at 11:59 p.m.
To be considered eligible for the program, applicants must have experienced a property tax bill increase of at least 50% in 2021, 2022 or 2023. Eligible applicants also include those who had a zero property tax bill increase to a non-zero bill in one of those years. The household must be the applicant’s primary residence.
Applicants must also have a combined household 2024 income that is at or below 100% of the Cook County Area Median Income. Median income numbers are determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The application process is in two phases, meant to limit the burden of the process and simplify documentation needs.
In the first phase, applicants will be required to provide basic personal and demographic information.
After this initial screening, if candidates meet the program’s basic eligibility criteria, their request will be placed in a lottery for potential advancement to the second phase.
If an applicant is selected for the second phase, they will be asked to submit documentation that will verify their eligibility for the program. Following this verification, applications will be placed in a final lottery which will determine the households that receive the relief.
The Cook County Homeowner Relief Fund program has a limited fund and run-time. It is expected to serve about 14,000 households.
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