DLA Piper

DLA Piper's Chicago office brings decades of experience to property tax matters across Illinois. Our team understands the complexities of Cook County's assessment system and has successfully challenged overvaluations for both residential and commercial properties. We've helped clients save millions in property taxes through strategic appeals and comprehensive valuation analysis. What sets us apart is our thorough approach to each case. We don't just file paperwork - we analyze market data, review assessment methodologies, and build compelling cases that resonate with review boards. Our success rate speaks for itself, with most clients seeing meaningful reductions in their property tax burden.

Our property tax practice covers the full spectrum of assessment challenges and appeals. For residential properties, we handle homestead exemption applications, assessment appeals, and senior citizen relief programs. Our team reviews your property's assessed value against comparable sales and market conditions to identify overassessments. Commercial property owners benefit from our expertise in complex valuation methods including income capitalization, cost approach analysis, and market comparisons. We handle office buildings, retail centers, industrial properties, and multi-family housing appeals. Our services include Board of Review appeals, Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings, and circuit court litigation when necessary. We also provide ongoing assessment monitoring services, ensuring you're notified of significant changes in your property's valuation. This proactive approach helps catch problems early, before they compound into larger tax burdens over multiple years.

Your property tax appeal begins with a comprehensive property assessment review. We analyze your current assessment, recent sales data, and market conditions to determine if an appeal is warranted. If we identify potential savings, we'll discuss strategy and expected outcomes with you. Next, we gather supporting documentation including appraisals, income statements, expense records, and comparable property data. Our team prepares detailed evidence packages tailored to your property's unique characteristics and the specific appeal venue. We handle all filing requirements and represent you at hearings before the Board of Review or PTAB. Throughout the process, we keep you informed of developments and coordinate any additional information requests from review authorities.

We serve property owners throughout Cook County, DuPage County, Lake County, and surrounding Chicago metropolitan areas. Our familiarity with local assessment practices, review board procedures, and market conditions across these jurisdictions helps us develop winning strategies for each unique location. We handle appeals at all levels including township assessors, county boards of review, the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, and circuit courts when litigation becomes necessary.