Cook County Assessor is the first place to start when trying to understand your tax bill in Cook County. The assessed value is the valuation used to calculate your tax bill. You can look up any property’s assessed value by address or PIN number on the Assessor’s website. There is also valuable information on exemptions that you could be entitled to, including the homeowner’s exemption and the senior exemption and senior freeze.

Before you settle on a new home in Chicago, you may want to know what school district it’s in. The Chicago Public School Locator allows you to enter any address and it will show you the neighborhood elementary and high schools as well as the boundaries for those schools. CPS has an application process for both elementary and high school that allow you to apply for schools outside of your neighborhood school. This provides an incredible opportunity for a good education no matter where you live. The process can be overwhelming at first, but I can share what I have learned through my own daughter’s CPS education journey.