Homeowners 'Encouraged' to Appeal Property Tax Assessment

Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin is encouraging Niles Township homeowners to appeal their property tax assessment for the 2012 tax year. Meanwhile, there will be a property tax seminar in Morton Grove on Jan. 31.

Homeowners in Niles Township are being encouraged to appeal their property tax assessment to the Cook County Board of Review for the 2012 tax year, said Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin in a press release on Monday. “The Cook County Board of Review’s Office opened on Jan. 7, 2013 for Niles Township homeowners to appeal their property tax assessment for 2012," Suffredin said in a press release. "Niles [Township] homeowners can potentially reduce their assessment, which could reduce their tax liabilities for taxes payable in August of 2013. I strongly encourage homeowners to appeal, as it is the best way for ensuring that your property taxes remain as low as possible.” Those looking to file an appeal in person may do so at the Skokie…

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Where to Vote in Skokie, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles

Are you wondering where your polling location is? Then check out this comprehensive guide showing you all the different voting locations for Niles Township.

Today is election day. And while the main ticket will be between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, there are also several key people running for office on a local level. We've compiled all the precinct locations for Niles Township. Not sure which precinct you're in? Well, here's your solution. Just click this link and enter your information on the Cook County Clerk's website. The following is a list of the various polling locations in Skokie, Lincolnwood and Evanston: Skokie: Niles / Morton Grove: Lincolnwood:

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District 219 Changes Requirements for Upcoming School Year

The class of 2016 will be required to take a semester speaking course.

Look out, Stephen Douglas. Students in Niles Township High School District 219 will be required to take a class on public speaking, starting with next year’s incoming freshmen. That was one of several curriculum changes approved by the District 219 school board Dec. 12 after a discussion of the annual review of programs for next year. The district reviews all programs each year to determine any changes that need to be made. The one-semester public speaking requirement can be satisfied by any of several classes, said Anne Roloff, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. In addition to public speaking, other classes to be offered next year that will meet the requirement: debate, theater workshop and broadcasting. Students…

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Patch Portrait

Patch Portrait: Dishing Up Community at the Niles Township Food Pantry

This week's Patch Portraits also features a taxi driver from Oak Park and a world traveler who returns home.

This week's Patch Portraits was produced and edited by Casey Cora, Phillip Downie and Natalie Kaplan. Check back on Mondays for the next installment. Also showcased, a North Shore world traveler and Oak Park's taxi driver. "This food pantry is about community, it's about everyone. It is not just about the people who come here that need food," states Cynthia Carranza, Director of the Niles Township Food Pantry. "People who are in the position to give, to help us out, believe me when I tell you it's just as important for them as it is for the person coming to get food." When Carranza left accounting five years ago to work at the food pantry, something her fiancé's mother who previously volunteered had recommended to her, she was starting to …

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Making Sense of Your Property Tax

Local Taxing Bodies Find Profit in Cooperatives

In Day Four of our series, Patch gives you the inside scoop on powerful organizations you may not know exist within the world of property taxes.

At lunchtime on a windy Wednesday in December, the movers and shakers of a northern Chicago suburb met at an elementary school with two attorneys and a couple pizza pies. You could call it a property tax pizza party, though the pizza came after the paperwork. It was time for the Property Tax Appeals Cooperative (PTAC) meeting, a semi-annual gathering for local taxing bodies in Niles Township that began in 1998. The cooperative, which includes about 15 school districts, public libraries, park districts and village governments, is trying to ensure that they get all the local tax money they believe they deserve. Groups such as Niles’ PTAC hire attorneys in the area to oppose businessowners’ property tax appeals. When banks, shopping malls, or…

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Niles Township Rx Card Saved Residents $17,500

Township trustees hear a report on what the card did for residents in its first five weeks.

  Debby Karton gave the Niles Township board of trustees a positive report Monday on what its new prescription drug card program, which is designed to save individuals money on their medications, has accomplished so far.  From Oct. 12, when the program started, to Nov. 17, a five-week period, 543 people used the card at pharmacies.  Without it, they would have paid a total of $37, 836.73 for their medications; however, the card enabled them to pay a cumulative $20,323.16, a savings of 46.3 percent. "You are to be commended," Karton, a benefits coordinator with the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association, told the board. "You've taken a risk to think outside the box and your residents have benefitted from that."  Karton and her colleague …

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