Cook County's delayed December tax sale and the 2026 suburban reassessment
Cook County's tax sale is running late. The Treasurer's next Annual Tax Sale, covering unpaid tax year 2023 bills, was first set for August 2025. A state law pushed it back, and the Treasurer's site now names December 15, 2026. What gets sold is a lien, not your house: a tax buyer bids to pay your overdue taxes. Under current law, a home with one to six units can generally be redeemed for up to three years from the sale. Redeeming means repaying the delinquent taxes, interest, fees and other costs through the County Clerk. Miss the deadline and the tax buyer can ask a judge for a tax deed. A free Clerk and Legal Aid Chicago help desk runs the third Thursday of each month at 118 N. Clark St., Room 434.
Reassessment rotates: Chicago was reassessed in 2024, the north suburbs in 2025, and the south and west suburbs, from Oak Park and Cicero down to Thornton and Bloom, are being reassessed in 2026. Residential property is assessed at 10 percent of market value.
Foreclosure in the Chancery Division and the free mediation helpline
Every foreclosure in Cook County goes to the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court, and every one runs through a judge. If you've been served with a court summons, the Chancery Division's Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program gives you housing counseling and legal help at no charge, and the helpline is (855) 452-2637. If you're worried about your mortgage but haven't been served, the court points you to Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt at (855) 956-5763. Redemption runs until the later of 7 months from service or 3 months from the judgment, before any sale. The Cook County foreclosure timeline and the deadline calculator map each step.
From a $156,800 Thornton Township median to $963,100 in New Trier
In Census estimates, the median owner-occupied home is worth $963,100 in New Trier Township and $636,200 in Northfield Township up north. Down south it's $180,300 in Bloom Township and $156,800 in Thornton Township. The county as a whole sits at $324,500.
Tax bills split the same way. For tax year 2024 the median residential bill was $4,457 in Chicago, up 16.7 percent, $7,503 in the suburbs north of North Avenue and $6,258 in the suburbs south of it.
What a $383,716 Cook County sale leaves you
Redfin put the county's median sale price at $383,716 in August 2026, up 5.1 percent in a year, with 43.2 percent of sales above list. Commission at about 4.9 percent, Clever's Illinois average (updated September 2026), is roughly $18,800. Closing costs at about 1.2 percent add roughly $4,600. The Clerk lists the seller as liable for the state transfer tax ($0.50 per $500, about $384) and the county tax ($0.25 per $500, about $192). Chicago adds its own city transfer tax and certificate requirements on top; the Chicago page walks through them.
At 4.9 percent, that's roughly $24,000 before your mortgage payoff, repairs and any Chicago city charges. Carrying costs add up too: a median Chicago bill works out to about $370 a month, and a south suburban one about $520. If the property is a fit, a cash buyer may make an offer, and you pick the closing date. Listing is a fine choice too, especially with so many sales closing over list.
Cook County town and neighborhood guides
Suburbs come first, then Chicago and its neighborhoods.
- Cicero: median value $249,400, township reassessed in 2026
- Berwyn: median value $299,800, township reassessed in 2026
- Maywood: median value $229,800
- Bellwood: median value $230,000
- Oak Lawn: median value $281,200
- Blue Island: median value $178,700
- Markham: median value $135,300
- Harvey: median value $88,100, the lowest of the suburbs listed here
- Dolton: median value $151,300
- South Holland: median value $217,200
- Calumet City: median value $145,200
- Chicago Heights: median value $161,000
- Park Forest: median value $115,300
- Evanston: north suburb reassessed in 2025, median value $481,200
- Des Plaines: median value $335,600, a north suburb reassessed in 2025
- Schaumburg: median value $330,400, a north suburb reassessed in 2025
- Chicago: city transfer tax, water certificate and zoning certificate rules
- Auburn Gresham: 43.0 percent single-family detached, median built 1949
- Chatham: 38.9 percent owner-occupied, median home built 1950
- Roseland: 58.1 percent single-family detached, median built 1949
- West Pullman: 69.9 percent single-family detached, median built 1953
- South Shore: 74.2 percent of occupied homes rented, median built 1944
- Englewood: 32.4 percent owner-occupied, median home built 1942
- West Englewood: 53.3 percent of homes built before 1940
- Back of the Yards: part of New City, 59.3 percent built before 1940
- Gage Park: median home built 1938, 58.3 percent owner-occupied
- Brighton Park: two-unit buildings hold 44.2 percent of housing units
- Little Village: South Lawndale community area, median home built 1929
- North Lawndale: 26.6 percent owner-occupied, 3 to 4 unit buildings lead
- Garfield Park: two-unit buildings hold 39.7 percent of West Garfield Park units
- Austin: two-unit buildings hold 26.6 percent of units, median built 1941
- Humboldt Park: 62.3 percent of homes built before 1940
- Belmont Cragin: median home built 1936, 52.3 percent owner-occupied
- Portage Park: 61.3 percent owner-occupied, median home built 1939
- Albany Park: 60.8 percent built before 1940, 43.7 percent owner-occupied
Sources: Cook County Treasurer, tax sale general information; 35 ILCS 200/21-350; Cook County Clerk, redemption help desk; Cook County Assessor, reassessments; Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division mediation; 735 ILCS 5/15-1603; Census Reporter, median home value for Cook County, its townships and suburbs (ACS 2020-2024); Cook County Treasurer, 2024 tax year bill analysis; Redfin, Cook County housing market August 2026; Clever, average commission survey; Cook County Clerk, transfer fees; CMAP Community Data Snapshots
