$2M Burr Ridge Building Finally Being Taxed

BURR RIDGE, IL – The headquarters building for Kensington School in Burr Ridge was missing from the tax rolls for 14 years.

Starting next year, that will no longer be the case.

Recently, the Cook County Assessor's Office valued the building at 743 McClintock Drive at $2.2 million. Before, the company paid about $13,000 in property taxes for the land. Now, the bill is likely to rise to above $100,000.

Since last year, Patch has reported on a number of situations where Lyons Township houses were missing from the tax rolls.

In some cases, the county assessor never updated its information to reflect the replacement of older, smaller houses with mansions. A WGN reporter's former house in Hinsdale is an example.

In October 2020, then-Lyons Township Assessor Barbara Weyrick informed the county assessor's office about the Kensington building. She asked the assessor's office to "move a mountain" to make sure it went on the rolls.

An official assured her that the office would follow up, but did not do so until recently.

In Cook County, township assessors have no power to assess properties; they act as taxpayer advocates.

In an interview last year, Lyons Township Assessor Patrick Hynes said the building would have brought in well over $1 million in property taxes since it was built in 2008. That was when the building was believed to have been sold for $1.5 million.

To be clear, local taxing bodies lose no money when properties are missing from the rolls. Rather, other taxpayers pick up the slack to cover local governments' tax levies.

Here are Patch's other stories about problems with property assessments:

• 18 La Grange Homes Missing From Tax Rolls: Official
• WGN Reporter's Taxes In Hinsdale Unusually Low
• Lyons Township Homes Missing From Tax Rolls
• $3.9M Hinsdale House With Low Tax Bill