Five days left for residents to pocket $1,000 towards housing costs - see if you qualify to apply
You could be eligible for a $1,000 payment to help cover rising housing costs.
In order to qualify, you'll need to apply by October 10 at 11:59pm.
The one-time assistance is part of a new $15 million relief program created to assist homeowners who 'experienced a substantial increase in property taxes in recent years'.
Applications are open now and will be processed in two phases before checks are sent out.
Selected recipients will automatically receive a one-time payment of $1,000 once approved.
To be considered, applicants must show their property taxes increased by at least 50 percent in 2021, 2022 or 2023.
This program is only available to Cook County, Illinois, homeowners.
They must also live in the property as their primary residence to qualify.
Residents are eligible for a $1,000 payment to help cover rising housing costs
Selected recipients will automatically receive a one-time payment
Applicants must prove their property taxes increased by at least 50 percent in 2021, 2022 or 2023. File photo of a family in their home above
The Chicago skyline is seen above. People in the Chicago area can apply for the $1,000 help
Applicants must also earn 100 percent of the area's median income or less. For a family of four, that is $119,900 or less, the county government said.
Cook County board president Toni Preckwinkle said: 'It has been a priority for us to support as many homeowners as possible with a measure of relief.
'This is part of a broader effort that advances system-wide property tax reforms.'
The funds to cover rising housing costs are designed to provide 'immediate relief' while broader reforms are pursued at the state and local level.
Cook County 10th district commissioner Bridget Gainer spearheaded the relief program after research with the University of Chicago's Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation confirmed that 'property tax volatility is a countywide issue'.
Gainer said: 'The Homeowner Relief Fund is the culmination of over a year of outreach, research and policy advocacy that will allow us to provide relief to homeowners in need of a lifeline as we work towards sustainable property tax relief.
'I'm proud to have made this critical program a reality to keep families in their homes and neighborhoods and protect their greatest asset to build wealth: homeownership.'
This program is part of Cook County's push to make homeownership more affordable for its residents.
The program is for homeowners in Cook County, Illinois. Pictured: The Chicago skyline
Applicants must also earn no more than 100 percent of the area's median income. It is only open to Cook Country residents. Chicago is in Cook County and seen above
Cook County has multiple programs pushing to make homeownership more affordable
Cook County homes are seen above in this suburban neighborhood
The average home value in Cook County is $320,621, according to Zillow.
As of 2024, about 20 percent of Cook County's population experienced 'severe housing problems', Data USA reported.
Other efforts include a modular homes pilot and a down payment assistance program.
The modular homes program looks to build single-family 1,450-square-foot homes in the Humboldt Park, Chicago Heights and Proviso Township neighborhoods.
The first two homes were finished in July.
The down payment assistance program helps homebuyers with down payments, closing costs or mortgage buydowns by providing subsidies of 5 percent of the home's sale price - up to $25,000.
