File photo
File photo
Cook County has approximately $110 million in unclaimed property tax refunds waiting for the rightful claimants.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recently told WLS that the biggest obstacles faced by her office in returning the money is finding the property owners to whom it’s owed.
The largest portion of the funds, approximately $79 million, comes from incidents in which property owners have paid a tax bill twice, according to WLS. In one example given, a property seller paid the taxes, then the property purchaser paid the taxes as well, not knowing the seller had already addressed them.
"If people knew that they had this money, then they would come and get it," Pappas said. "This is simply a matter of not knowing."
Another $38 million comes from people who never applied for exemptions, such as homeowners or senior exemptions, Pappas said.
"We need to get this money back to people that are entitled to it," she added. "I don't care how much money you have, if someone says here's $500, it's a lot of money because it's unexpected money."
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