Cook County has no vacancy tax on empty residential or commercial property. Illinois law does not authorize counties to impose one, and the property tax system already taxes vacant parcels at full assessed value with no occupancy adjustment.
Unlike Vancouver, Oakland, or proposed San Francisco vacancy taxes, Cook County imposes no special levy on unoccupied homes or storefronts. Illinois Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200) governs assessment uniformly: vacant land and improved-but-empty parcels are taxed at the same percentage of fair market value as occupied properties, with Cook's commercial assessment level at 25% (vs 10% residential). The county's only vacancy-related tools are property tax incentive Class 6b/7a/7b/8 reductions, which lower assessment for owners who rehab and re-occupy long-vacant industrial or commercial buildings. No bill to authorize a local vacancy tax has passed the Illinois General Assembly.
There is no vacancy tax to violate. Owners who let property deteriorate face separate property maintenance enforcement under Ch. 102 nuisance abatement and municipal vacant-building ordinances.
See how Evanston's vacancy tax rules stack up against other locations.
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