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CHICAGO - The Cook County Treasurer’s Office distributed $2.3 billion in emergency funds to more than 500 local governments after technology failures had led to months of delayed property tax payments.
Treasurer Maria Pappas’ office called the action "unprecedented" in a news release.
What we know:
It’s the latest step in a months-long ordeal that began with system failures by Tyler Technology, a Texas-based company, that led to delays in distributing more than $8 billion to municipalities, school districts and other local government bodies, according to the treasurer’s office.
It was only last month that homeowners received the second installment of their property tax bills, when they were originally due on Aug. 1. Pappas said that if the bills had been sent out over the summer, some taxpayers would have received incorrect bills.
"That’s simply unacceptable," Pappas said in the news release. "Local governments shouldn’t have to worry about their cash flow because a vendor after more than a decade of work has failed to deliver a working system."
Property taxes provide a significant source of revenue for local governments and schools.
In Illinois, about 40% of all revenue for governments, schools, and more comes from property taxes, according to the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy. Historically, more than 60% of public school funding came from property taxes, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.