Afternoon Briefing: Southland homeowners demand property tax relief

Good afternoon, Chicago.

More than 10,000 residents of Cook County can expect to receive automatic refunds due to overpayments of their property taxes , Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas announced today. The treasurer plans to send out more than $22 million in refunds by Aug. 9.

Meanwhile, as south suburban homeowners prepare to pay their historically high property tax bills ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi faced hundreds of frustrated residents last night in Calumet City who demanded immediate relief.

Residents packed the auditorium at Thornton Fraction North High School demanding answers at the prompting of Calumet City Mayor and state Rep. Thaddeus Jones, who has blamed Kaegi for jumps in people’s assessed values that translated into massive tax increases for many.

Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.

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