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What would you do if your property taxes suddenly increased 98% or more?
That’s the question some homeowners in Chicago’s South and West Side are asking after a new bill led to an average 98% increase on their property taxes, with some neighborhoods seeing a 130% spike.
Many who received the enormous bills felt they needed to do something about it.
Richard Townsell of North Lawndale saw a 75.86% increase, he told CBC News Chicago (1). His friend received a bill with a 237% increase. In Cook County, property taxes need to be paid by Dec. 15 (2).
After sitting down with his wife to discuss cancelling their vacation in order to pay this surprise bill, he felt it was time to take action.
Townsell decided to organize a symbolic “bill burning” ceremony inspired by the Boston Tea Party — a crucial moment during the American Revolution when American colonists in Boston dumped 340 chests of tea into the ocean to protest paying tax on the tea to the British government, while not being represented in British parliament (3).
The idea of taxation without representation was central to the Tea Party protests, and he felt something similar happening in Chicago.
The sudden tax hike, it turns out, was because so many downtown Chicago buildings are left empty, according to County Treasurer Maria Pappas.
“All these high rises, commercial buildings that you see downtown are unrented because the businesses have left the city — so somebody had to pick it up,” Pappas told CBS News. “So the residents are picking it up.”
As an executive director at the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation, Townsell wanted to do more than “just whine about it.” So, he gathered the community together to publicly burn their property tax bills — drawing media attention to the issue of homeowners in neighborhoods well outside the downtown core footing the bill for all these empty commercial buildings.
Their next step might include pushing for a 2% cap on property tax increases, similar to California’s Proposition 13, which came into law in 1978 as a direct result of rapidly rising property taxes (3).
“I think it’s incumbent upon us as citizens to give our elected officials what we want,” Townsell said. “We should be pressing them around the bills that we want to see, not waiting for them to come up with a solution.”
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While you might not be prepared for a sudden 98% increase in property taxes, these things can happen.
This situation points out just how valuable it is to have six to 12 months of living expenses saved in an emergency fund, on the off chance that something like this happens.
A large emergency fund can allow breathing room even when your tax bills are startling, so you don’t have to cancel that vacation. But having that much cash sitting around means losing money to inflation. Storing that money in a high-yield account can help prevent inflation from eating into your funds over time.
A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your emergency fund, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to your cash when the taxman suddenly drops a massive bill on you.
A Wealthfront Cash Account provides a base variable APY of 3.50%, but new clients can get a 0.65% boost over their first three months for a total APY of 4.15%. That’s over ten times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s November report.
With no minimum balances or account fees, 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers — your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, Wealthfront Cash Account balances of up to $8 million are insured by the FDIC through program banks.
Budgeting can also help prep for these unexpected bills. Understanding exactly where your money is going can help you cut costs and save more each month, leaving extra money to help build your emergency fund.
But if managing a budget feels overwhelming to you, an app like Rocket Money can simplify the process.
Rocket Money tracks and categorizes your expenses, providing a clear view of your cash, credit and investments in one place. It can even uncover forgotten subscriptions, helping you cut unnecessary costs and potentially saving you hundreds annually.
For a small fee, the app can also negotiate lower rates on your monthly bills, making it a valuable tool to help keep your finances on track.
What’s happening to some Chicago residents’ property tax bills also points out another reality — real estate ownership is filled with unexpected expenses.
A recent Bankrate study showed that the hidden costs of homeownership, including maintenance and insurance, reached $21,400 in 2025, with property taxes contributing $4,316 to that average (5). If these hidden expenses make home ownership sound unappealing to you, there are other ways to benefit from real estate market gains without directly owning and managing property.
You might prefer to invest in shares of vacation homes or rental properties, which you can do via Arrived.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties while earning a passive income stream, without the hassle of being a landlord of your own rental property.
To get started, just browse their vetted properties, selected for their income-generating and appreciation potential. Once you choose a property, you can start investing with just $100.
Another option is Mogul, a real estate investment platform offering fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties. Mogul gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the surprise property tax bills.
Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the team hand-picks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. Simply put, Mogul lets you invest in institutional-quality offerings at a fraction of the usual cost.
Each property undergoes a vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. The platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%, and its cash-on-cash yields average between 10% to 12% annually. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.
Getting started is quick and easy. Just sign up for an account and browse available properties. Once your information is verified, you can invest like a mogul in just a few clicks.
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
CBC News Chicago (1); Cook County Treasurer (2); National Archives (3); Tulare County (4); Bankrate (5)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.