Accountability
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Forest Pres. Budget
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Everyone knows the exact date federal income taxes are due: April 15, unless that falls on a weekend or holiday. But in Cook County, the deadline for the second installment of property taxes has been much more, shall we say, fluid: October, November, December. In short, whenever the county got around to it, no matter how much that messed with your household budget or planning by local governments. This year, though, the various county agencies that prepare tax bills finally got their act together. The bills are scheduled to go out before the official July 1 deadline, with a payment due date of Aug. 1. That may come as a shock to people used to paying in November or December. The high gasoline prices that they thought might blow a hole in their vacation budgets will be nothing compared to a big tax bill that feels like it’s three months early. But consider this: Christmas gift budgeting just got easier. And if the county stays on its schedule, you won’t find three “semiannual” tax bills showing up in your mailbox within nine months of each other. Best of all, taxpayers will get more value for the buck.