Mendoza, State of Illinois Comptroller, Last Updated: June 27, 2011.ДЈ Illinois Department of Revenue, The Illinois Property Tax System, A General Guide to the Local Property Tax Cycle, (PTAX-1104).Д¤ Cook County Township Government FAQ Part 1, The Civic Federation, April 14, 2010.ДҐ Phone Interview: Raymond Gottner, Manager of the Map Department, Cook County ClerkвЂ™s Office, Oct. 15-45.Дў Bryan Smith, вЂњ Township Government in Illinois вЂ“ A rich history, a vibrant future!вЂќ Susana A. 13ДЎ вЂњTerritory deemed a township: The territory of any organized city, within the limits of any county under township organization and not situated within any township, shall be deemed a township.вЂќ 60 ILCS 1/15-45, Sec. Townships evaluate a resident or familyвЂ™s need based on eligibility requirements. Additionally, вЂњtownshipsвЂќ 12 in the City of Chicago do not levy a tax at all as that process is solely conducted by the City of Chicago itself.Д¬) They provide financial assistance under the General Assistance (GA) Program: The GA program gives temporary financial assistance to qualifying residents and families to provide basic amenities. While most Cook County townships levy a tax for road and bridge maintenance, not all of them do. There are also differences in the taxing process.

For instance, the State of Illinois could pay the Cook County Highway Department to maintain a set of state-owned roadways. When this occurs, the annexing municipality is usually responsible for that road or bridge, but again, this is not always the case.ДЄlternatively, there could be situations in which one governmental entity owns the right of way over land but pays another entity to maintain it. When municipalities annex land, they also annex the surrounding right of ways. Which governmental entity handles road and bridge maintenance in Cook County depends on a variety of factors. Maintenance of some roads and bridges is controlled directly by the State of Illinois and the task is handled by the Illinois Department of Transportation or the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Some roads and bridges in Cook County are maintained by the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways. At times roads and bridges are maintained directly by the municipality they fall in other times, the municipality is paid by the county to maintain them. Not surprisingly, there isnвЂ™t a unified method or procedure for how Cook County handles its road maintenance. This is another area where Cook County is unique. 9 Townships assign road district commissions that are responsible for overseeing this task. 8 This makes up nearly 53 percent of the total road miles in Illinois and nearly half of all bridges in the state. 7Д«) They maintain roads and bridges: Township governments maintain 71,000 miles of road in Illinois. The assessor's office assesses the northern part of Cook County in the first year, the southern parts in the second year, and the City of Chicago in the third year. It should also be noted that Cook County is assessed on a tri-annual basis. They are not directly involved in the assessment process and merely function as township advocates. Each township in Cook County does have a township вЂњassessorвЂќ, but that role is limited. 5 The office of the Cook County Assessor is an elected position and is currently held by Joseph Berrios. In Cook County, townships do not assess the value of property - all assessments are made by the Cook County Assessor's Office. 3 In addition, township assessors assist residents with assessment appeals, process building permits, and accept property tax exemption applications. In Illinois, townships perform three distinct functions:ДЄ) They assess the value of your property: In order to determine property tax bills, an assessment of propertiesвЂ™ value is conducted by the township assessor.Дuring this period of assessment, the property is вЂњdiscovered, listed, and appraisedвЂќ so its tax value can be determined. They generally provide services such as road maintenance and social welfare programs. Townships are created at the local level to serve a specific segment of the population within a designated area. A township is a unit of local government typically carved out of a county 1 to represent 2 a geographical or political subdivision.

Township definition