Real Estate Law · DuPage County, Illinois
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DuPage County and Cook County property taxes are among the highest in the country, and assessments are wrong more often than owners realize. If your assessed value is too high, you overpay every year until someone challenges it. We handle property tax appeals for homeowners and commercial owners across DuPage and Cook County, and we only recommend an appeal when the numbers support one.
We have handled Illinois property tax appeals for more than thirty years, as part of a full real estate practice. We know the DuPage and Cook County boards, their deadlines, and the evidence they actually credit, and we tell you honestly whether your assessment is beatable before you spend a dollar.
We address the full range of issues in this area.
An appeal lives or dies on evidence and deadlines. We start by checking whether your assessment is actually out of line, using comparable sales and assessment ratios, because there is no point appealing a fair number. If it is high, we build the case and file with your county’s Board of Review before the township deadline, which is often a short and unforgiving window.
From there we present the evidence and, if the county denies relief, we can escalate to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board or the Circuit Court. A successful appeal lowers not just this year’s bill but your baseline going forward, which is why a single reduction often pays for itself many times over. We handle the process end to end and keep you posted at each step.
30+ years in DuPage and Cook County courts and recorder offices.
Chris or John handles your file personally.
Real estate, litigation, and estate planning under one roof.
We’ll tell you realistic outcomes, including when settlement is better than litigation.
Flat fees where possible, clear hourly rates where flat doesn’t fit.
Your calls returned, your questions answered.
From our Villa Park office, we represent clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs of Chicago.
Often yes, particularly if your assessment is out of line with comparable properties, your property has condition issues affecting value, or your township reassessment overshoots actual market value. Roughly 30-40% of appeals result in reductions.
The Board of Review opens annually after the assessor’s office publishes assessments, typically late summer through fall. Each township has its own filing deadline. Miss the window and you wait until next year.
Depends on the over-assessment. Successful appeals of 10-30% reductions in assessed value are common. On a $400K home with a 20% reduction, savings are typically $1,500-3,000 per year, and reductions can carry forward for years.
Usually no, most board hearings are decided on the written submission. Some commercial cases or contested matters require appearance. We handle the entire process for you.
Most property tax appeal attorneys (including us) work on contingency for residential appeals, a percentage of the first year’s tax savings. No savings = no fee. Commercial appeals may be hourly or contingent depending on complexity.
It depends on how over-assessed your property is, but reductions commonly translate into hundreds or thousands of dollars a year, and the savings repeat until the next reassessment. We estimate the realistic range before filing so you know whether the appeal is worth your time.
It varies by county and township, and the windows are short, often about thirty days after assessments are published. Miss it and you generally wait a full year. The safest move is to have us check your assessment as soon as you get the notice.
A free consultation tells you whether you have a viable matter and what the realistic process looks like.