$3.9M Hinsdale House With Low Tax Bill

HINSDALE, IL – Another high-priced house in Hinsdale, another abnormally low tax bill.

In 2020, a newly built house on Taft Road sold for nearly $3.9 million. It came with a tax bill of $17,114, unusually low for a house of that value.

This follows Patch's report earlier this month about WGN investigative reporter Ben Bradley paying a $5,000 annual property tax bill on a Hinsdale house he bought for $1.4 million a dozen years ago.

In both cases, the Cook County Assessor's Office based its information on old houses that were torn down and replaced.

With the Taft Road house, the office estimated the property value at $757,940. That price is based on the smaller house on the property that was leveled years ago.

If the Taft property assessment was based on the purchase price, the tax bill would be about $88,000. The taxpayer is seeing a savings of $71,000. Records show the taxpayer is meeting his tax obligations.

No local taxing body lost any money as a result of the assessment mistake. Instead, other taxpayers picked up the slack.

Public records show the county assessor's office got a heads-up about the new house.

Three days after the Taft Road transaction, Lyons Township assessor's employee Irene Farbo alerted the county assessor about the sale price, according to the records. She was working under the leadership of longtime Assessor Barbara Weyrick, who left office in 2020.

Farbo told the county about the three-car attached garage, three fireplaces, finished basement, a patio with a heated floor and a "whole lot of amenities" throughout the house.

Farbo also presented the building permit and other documents from the village of Hinsdale.

"Please field check and assess for new construction property," Farbo told the county.

The county apparently never did.

Last week, the county office's spokesman, Scott Smith, said the agency would look into it.

The current Lyons Township assessor, Patrick Hynes, told Patch about the Taft Road example when the media outlet was working on its story on the WGN reporter.

In an email to Patch, Hynes, who started last November, said he has checked nearly 25 percent of parcels in the township, which includes La Grange and Western Springs. He said he has found $25 million in missing assessments.

"When they're missing, the other taxpayers pick up the tab," said Hynes, who worked for the county office for two decades.

He said he has shared all the parcels in question with the county assessor.

"None have been added as of today," he said. "I started sending these in November 2021. I even sketched a few for (Assessor Fritz Kaegi) since his office is so understaffed. Still not added."

Hynes said his first-year goal was to add $100 million back to the rolls, saving other taxpayers money. He said he expected to achieve it.

In Cook County, township assessors serve as taxpayer advocates. They have no power to assess properties.

In an email to Patch, Smith, the spokesman, said his office was working with Hynes on the submitted information. He said the office was happy to have Hynes' partnership to ensure all assessments are fair and accurate.

Smith said the county office's staff dwindled significantly during the administration of Kaegi's predecessor, Joe Berrios.

"Since taking office, Assessor Kaegi has made it a priority to hire skilled staff in the areas where it is lacking," Smith said. "We continue to hire at a consistent rate to ensure we have enough staff to do the job. In addition, we have implemented new technology which will allow us to use aerial photography where we would otherwise have needed an in-person field inspection."