Residents of North Lawndale burned their tax bills in a symbolic gesture Saturday as they gathered at the parking lot of Harmony Community Church to protest their soaring property taxes.
Participants repeated the phrase “light the way to fairness” as they called for transparency, predictability and reform in Illinois’s property tax system. They then were invited to toss their tax bills into a bonfire.
The community-led demonstration was an opportunity where homeowners, renters and business owners also discussed how their tax bills are impacting them and the community.
NBC 5 reported that Cook County property tax bills, delayed for months due to a complex, years-long technology upgrade, are now expected to be mailed with a Dec. 15 due date. This has left residents frustrated over the postponed second installment.
Pamela Bell, a North Lawndale resident and member of the North Lawndale Homeowners Association, shared her journey to homeownership, taking over a lot her parents had cared for with a garden for over 40 years. After becoming a homeowner in 2023, she was shocked to face an unexpectedly high property tax bill of $4,700, far above what she anticipated based on other neighborhood homes. She contacted the tax office seeking an explanation for the steep increase.
“I had a home that my parents tried to purchase. Unfortunately, I was not prepared for the high taxes. What I didn’t understand was how a property could go from paying zero taxes to $4,700 in taxes. I couldn’t believe it. I had done research and found out that the homes in my neighborhood were not expensive,” Bell said.
Alderman Monique Scott acknowledged that rising Cook County property taxes are causing real fear and strain for families in the 24th Ward, especially in a community already impacted by long-term disinvestment. She emphasized that these increases aren’t just numbers on paper, they affect residents’ ability to pay bills, keep their homes and care for their families.
“The accountability and transparency in how Cook County collect and spends property taxes is a concern. We need alternatives that don’t overburden our residents, including fair revenue strategies that don’t fall on struggling families in places like North Lawndale,” Scott said.
Scott said she is committed to pushing for fair taxation so residents aren’t overburdened and their money funds services that actually support them. She said that the community is entitled to a system that treats them fairly.
“We’re trying to rebuild. This is about adding, not subtracting. We’re working to bring people back and repopulate our community, but that can’t happen when property taxes are so high that they affect all of us. I looked at my own bill, and it’s a 100% increase,” Scott said.
Shangwé Parker explained that as a member of United Power for Action and Justice and president of the North Lawndale Homeowners Association, he also manages properties for a major affordable housing developer across the Midwest.
He highlighted how sharply rising property taxes makes it difficult to maintain affordable housing and provide residents with needed services. He stressed the need to fix the system so affordable housing remains viable, noting that even successful tax appeals often recover only a fraction of the excessive tax increases.
He said: “From a homeowner perspective, as we fight to build 1,000 homes here in North Lawndale, we’re one of the neighborhoods that’s been affected the most. This isn’t just me talking — read the data. How do we continue to talk about equity, giving equity back to folks, when we’re pricing them out?”
Rob Johnson said he was attending on behalf of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago, which represents about 240 commercial office buildings downtown and more than 200 businesses that keep them running.
He noted that the association’s members support about 65,000 jobs and contribute roughly $1.5 billion in property taxes. Johnson emphasized the connection between commercial and residential taxpayers and called for common-sense reform, adding that many residents are seeing steep increases this year, with average residential bills up nearly 17% citywide.
“No one wants to invest in a market where property taxes can increase 3% one year, 70% the next year, 40% the next year and 10% the year after that. No one can budget like that. Businesses can’t budget like that. I can’t budget like that. Residents can’t budget like that,” Johnson said. “When that happens, people invest elsewhere.”
Johanna Thompson, a teacher, small business owner and member of the Lawndale Homeowners Association, shared her perspective on property taxes.
She recalled growing up in California in the 1970s when Proposition 13 was passed to address rapidly rising property taxes, which had tripled in just a few years. Thompson emphasized that predictability is key; she said homeowners need a system that allows them to plan for tax increases, similar to California’s model, where property taxes are based on the purchase price of a home and capped at limited annual increases.
“We want fairness in this system. We don’t mind paying our taxes, but you cannot gouge us and you cannot surprise us. Stop that. We are here tonight to ceremoniously burn some paper,” Thompson said.
Dr. James Brooks, CEO of Lawndale Christian Health Center and senior pastor of Harmony Community Church, emphasized that representation goes beyond having elected officials at the city, county, state and federal levels. True representation, he said, means having the ability to influence how residents are taxed.
“Our aim is to make the system fair, transparent and predictable. That’s all we’re asking for,” Brooks said.
Parker urged attendees to continue the conversation and collaborate with their allies who are committed to making the necessary changes in the state.
“I don’t want us to lose focus, especially as we fight inflation and worry about the people in our communities who are being affected, people who look like you and me,” Parker said.
