Small businesses and commercial property owners received advice from Audit Committee Commissioner Samantha Steele (2nd District) explains how to appeal the assessments and tax bills on their properties during a virtual forum Tuesday morning.

Meeting host and Council Member Clare Kelly (1st District) said she organized the program to help property owners learn how they can “potentially offset the costs of doing business in Evanston.” Steele, an Evanston resident and business owner herself, said she hopes the information can help the city’s businesses survive the area’s high tax burden.

“Running a business isn’t cheap, and property taxes are usually the biggest expense, along with inventory and employees,” Steele said. “I’m very conscious of that, and that’s why our goal at the Board of Review is to make sure your assessment is as accurate as possible.”

The three-member board is an elected body that hears appeals against the reduction of the Cook County Assessor’s Officewhich in turn reduces the tax burden on those properties. Although each commissioner represents a separate part of Cook County, all appeals are approved or denied by a majority vote of the entire body.

The who, when and how of objections

Steele said all property owners in Evanston have until Tuesday, Aug. 20, to file appeals for the 2024 tax year (2025 accounting period). After that, they have until Friday, Aug. 30, to submit evidence to reduce their levies. For small business owners, this includes documents such as detailed property descriptions, rent lists and three years of financial statements, as well as supporting documentation such as vacancy statements and information on recent sales.

One important note was that any small business that is legally required to pay property taxes on its premises can appeal, even if it leases that premises from another owner. Steele said this applies even if the property taxes are paid to the landlord and not directly to the county.

“If I’m the landlord and I tell you (the tenant), ‘This is just in our lease and you have to pay me these taxes before they’re due,’ then I’m the owner and I’m paying those taxes,” Steele said hypothetically. “But since you’re legally obligated to pay those taxes and comply with the agreements, you can appeal those assessments.”

This is particularly evident in Triple-net leaseswhere the tenant bears the tax burden themselves, but can also be demonstrated for other types of leases that include explicit tax obligations. Matt Fournier, Steele’s director of commercial valuations, encouraged business owners to check whether their leases give them special appeal rights.