Cook County's 'senior freeze' property tax breaks are long overdue for better oversight

Lower-income older folks who own homes in Illinois, the highest property tax state in the Midwest, for decades have received a critical tax break known as the “senior freeze.”

Officially, it’s called the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze, and it’s a vital form of tax relief that prevents hundreds of thousands of older Illinoisans on fixed incomes from losing their homes because of steep property taxes.

The exemption freezes homes’ assessed values the year someone qualifies for the program and must be renewed annually in Cook County. To qualify, folks must be 65 or older and have a yearly household income of no more than $65,000. The freeze only works on a primary residence; a second home is a no-go.

Oversight by county assessors who administer the program is essential. As with any government program, there is potential for abuse, as some dishonest folks will try to benefit. We urge Cook Country Assessor Fritz Kaegi to press ahead with reforms to prevent fraud and flag errors by applicants.

Sun-Times Watchdogs reporter Tim Novak reported over the weekend that applicants haven’t been required to provide documentation to prove they meet the household income requirement to obtain the freeze. Verification of income hasn’t been carried out unless someone questions it.

Novak asked the Cook County assessor's office questions about senior freezes for 20 properties, which led to the current review of 15 properties. But it shouldn't take a reporter's questions to get action against people suspected of abusing the system.

Novak asked about a freeze for a Winnetka mansion owned by an 84-year-old widow whose property tax bills have been lowered by a whopping $467,000 over 12 years. This year alone, her tax bill was lowered by $67,758.

While receiving the exemption, the homeowner, Jill Fitzgerald sold two apartment buildings for more than $2.5 million. How does that square with the exemption’s $65,000 limit on annual income? The assessor’s office should soon find out — Kaegi is now asking for proof Fitzgerald qualified for the breaks.

In a Sun-Times letter to the editor, Kaegi underscored that only a small number of exemptions — among more than 98,000 — were flagged by the Sun-Times. Yes, abuse appears to be rare. But once the money is lost, how likely is it that the county will be able to claw it back? And every time a tax break is given, other taxpayers must carry a bigger property tax load to make up the difference.

‘Riddled’ with errors

Kaegi plans to start auditing senior freeze applications next year. He’ll verify applicants’ income levels with the Illinois Department of Revenue. And he’ll check on applicants' ages.

But it’s puzzling, at the least, that these steps weren’t adopted years ago by Kaegi (or his predecessors, including Joe Berrios, who was voted out of office in 2018).

In 2021, the Sun-Times reported the senior freeze program was “riddled” with errors. It hasn’t helped that Cook County has relied on an antiquated mainframe computer that soon will be replaced.

Novak's investigationn found a 54-year-old — that’s right, he’s 11 years too young for a senior freeze — who has received the exemption. That property owner, Armando Saleh and his wife, Maria Manzano, got their first senior freeze — get this — in their 20s under then-Cook County Assessor James Houlihan.

Saleh is a City Hall lobbyist who has received a senior freeze on two apartment buildings simultaneously, though the exemption is supposed to be applied to a primary residence only.

Here’s another eyebrow-raiser: Some businesses have received senior freezes, even though it’s clear only individuals qualify.

To Kaegi’s credit, his office has flagged nearly 10,000 cases of homeowners getting tax breaks under various programs for which they didn’t qualify. The senior freeze is just one piece of it. Audits of that program can’t come soon enough.

Send letters to letters@suntimes.com

Get Opinions content delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

More about the Sun-Times Editorial Board at chicago.suntimes.com/about/editorial-board