President Donald Trump just scored a huge win over Chicago politicians and will get a $1 million property tax refund from the Democrat-controlled city.
A court ruled that the City of Chicago must refund Trump the overpaid taxes related to his skyscraper along the Chicago River.
Trump has been fighting the machine in Chicago for years to get this fixed.
He was finally victorious after the Illinois Appellate Court agreed that the Trump International Hotel & Tower was overvalued by the Cook County assessorโs office and the Cook County Board of Review.
The refund will come out of the property taxes due this year to the city of Chicago and eight other government agencies.
The Cook County treasurerโs office will begin preparing approximately 339 refunds totaling $1 million for the skyscraperโs hotel rooms and condo spaces after a three-member appellate court panel on Monday rejected an appeal by the Cook County Board of Review.
Justice Mary Ellen Coghlan wrote in the 13-page ruling that the decision in favor of Trump came after lawyers from the Cook County stateโs attorneyโs office presented โno expert testimony in support of its estimation of valueโ for the skyscraper.
From The Hill in 2021:
The Cook County stateโs attorney is seeking to block a $1 million tax refund that the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board ruled is owed to former President Trump on his Chicago skyscraperโs 2011 tax bill.ย
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the office of Cook County Stateโs Attorney Kimberly Foxx filed a lawsuit this month with the Illinois Appellate Court against the refund, stating that the former presidentโs refund would take away taxpayer dollars from Chicago public schools and other agencies to pay for it.ย
Last month, the state property tax board voted 5-0 that the value of the Trump International Hotel & Tower had been overassessed, thus leaving Trump eligible for a refund totaling $1.03 million.
Former President Trump wins tax refund on Chicago tower https://t.co/EuOLZVmVO0 pic.twitter.com/jFxJBxNMlJ
โ CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) April 27, 2023
Trump wins $1 million tax refund on Chicago tower: report https://t.co/R3S8Io5rsK
โ Crain’s Chicago Business (@CrainsChicago) April 25, 2023
According to The Realdeal:
Trump initially claimed the thousands of square feet of vacant storefront at the tower along the Chicago River had no value and thus no taxes were owed.
The state agency denied his argument but on June 2, the board unanimously ruled to reduce the commercial property assessments on the building, triggering the refund.
In 2018, a hearing officer for the board said Trump wasnโt due a refund because his team couldnโt prove the overvalued assessment.
A new report afterward, however, argued that Trump was owed the money.
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