Former President Donald J. Trump got a huge win over Chicago politicians and will get a $1 million property tax refund on his skyscraper along the Chicago River. Trump has been fighting the machine in Chicago for years to get this fixed.
He was finally victorious after the Illinois Appellate Court agreed that the Trump International Hotel & Tower was overvalued by the Cook County assessor’s office and the Cook County Board of Review.
The refund will come out of the property taxes due this year to the city of Chicago and eight other government agencies.
The Cook County treasurer’s office will begin preparing approximately 339 refunds totaling $1 million for the skyscraper’s hotel rooms and condo spaces after a three-member appellate court panel on Monday rejected an appeal by the Cook County Board of Review.
Justice Mary Ellen Coghlan wrote in the 13-page ruling that the decision in favor of Trump came after lawyers from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office presented “no expert testimony in support of its estimation of value” for the skyscraper.
From The Hill in 2021:
The Cook County state’s attorney is seeking to block a $1 million tax refund that the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board ruled is owed to former President Trump on his Chicago skyscraper’s 2011 tax bill.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx filed a lawsuit this month with the Illinois Appellate Court against the refund, stating that the former president’s refund would take away taxpayer dollars from Chicago public schools and other agencies to pay for it.
Last month, the state property tax board voted 5-0 that the value of the Trump International Hotel & Tower had been overassessed, thus leaving Trump eligible for a refund totaling $1.03 million.
According to The Realdeal:
Trump initially claimed the thousands of square feet of vacant storefront at the tower along the Chicago River had no value and thus no taxes were owed.
The state agency denied his argument but on June 2, the board unanimously ruled to reduce the commercial property assessments on the building, triggering the refund.
In 2018, a hearing officer for the board said Trump wasn’t due a refund because his team couldn’t prove the overvalued assessment.
A new report afterward, however, argued that Trump was owed the money.
Former President Trump wins tax refund on Chicago tower https://t.co/EuOLZVmVO0 pic.twitter.com/jFxJBxNMlJ
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) April 27, 2023
Trump wins $1 million tax refund on Chicago tower: report https://t.co/R3S8Io5rsK
— Crain’s Chicago Business (@CrainsChicago) April 25, 2023
