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On June 16, 2026, the Illinois Department of Revenue (DOR) announced that the final 2025 Cook County Equalization Factor is 3.0300.  This final 2025 Cook County Equalization Factor is almost identical (-.18%) to the 2024 Cook County Equalization Factor of 3.0355.  The final 2025 Cook County Equalization Factor is 5.64% higher than the tentative 2025 […]
Continue Reading 2025 Cook County Final Multiplier or Equalization Factor Set

Second installment 2025 tax bills for Cook County property owners will be at least two months late per a statement by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.  Second installment property tax bills are typically issued in July and due 30 days later in early August.  Last year, for tax year 2024, the bills were significantly […]
Continue Reading SECOND INSTALLMENT 2025 TAX BILLS WILL BE DUE NO EARLIER THAN OCTOBER, 2026

The Chicago Bears’ stadium legislation is still undecided and probably won’t be decided until the end of the spring legislative session in Springfield on May 31st. On April 22, 2026, the Illinois House passed a bill 78-32 which supports a new Bears stadium and which would include provisions for property tax relief where the Bears […]
Continue Reading LEGISLATION ON CHICAGO BEARS’ PROPOSED STADIUM STILL BEING FINALIZED

The Illinois Department of Revenue announced a tentative 2025 Cook County Equalization Factor of 2.8683 on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.  This tentative 2025 Cook County Equalization Factor is 5.51% lower than the final 2024 Cook County Equalization Factor of 3.0355.  Every year, the Illinois Department of Revenue is legally required to calculate the equalization factor […]
Continue Reading 2025 Cook County Tentative Multiplier or Equalization Factor Set

Maria Pappas, the Cook County Treasurer, recently issued a report which explained that over a 30-year-period from 1995 to 2024, Cook County tax levies rose 182% from $6.8 billion to $19.2 billion, while inflation over that same period was 91%.  Further impacting taxpayers, average wages increased by about 161%. The study explains that voter-approved tax […]
Continue Reading COOK COUNTY PROPERTY TAXES HAVE INCREASED BY DOUBLE THE INFLATION RATE IN THE LAST 30 YEARS

This blog article (including a detailed infographic, explainer video and key case summaries) seeks to explain the rationale behind BIPA, provide practical compliance tips and warn about the increasingly high stakes involved in the collection, use and retention of Biometric Data (especially in Illinois). In the architecture of modern cybersecurity, a password is a temporary credential; a fingerprint is a permanent vulnerability. This distinction forms the bedrock of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Unlike a Social Security number or a credit card token—which can be canceled and reissued—biometric identifiers like face scans and iris patterns are “immutable facets…
Continue Reading The Illinois BIPA Tsunami ➲ Navigating the High Stakes of Biometric Data Risks

This blog article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the categories of fraud (including noteworthy examples) that have formed the basis for False Claims Act “Qui Tam” private claims. It also highlights overall trends and analysis, whistleblower evolution, future outlook, pattern analysis and fraud categories to watch.
Continue Reading False Claims Act [USA] Fraud Analysis 2025 ➲ Comprehensive Guide

This blog article is a timely warning to all US Federal Government Contractors who have not met cybersecurity requirements under US Federal Government contracts since 2017. It also addresses some US State Government Contractors and any merger or acquisition parties that have purchased a US Government Contractor with existing or historical cyber gaps or breaches that have not been identified, or if identified, no safe harbor protections have been invoked.
Continue Reading How the False Claims Act [USA] transforms CyberSecurity Non-Compliance Risks into ➲ Fraud against the US Gov

As a result of the Cook County’s implementation failures of Tyler Technologies’ system to upgrade its property tax systems, the second installment 2024 real estate tax payments were delayed four and a half months and were due on December 15, 2025.  In addition to the tax bill delays, all refund checks due Cook County taxpayers […]
Continue Reading CONSEQUENCES OF COOK COUNTY TREASURER’S SYSTEM FAILURES

This past Friday (11/7/25), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced that the much-delayed 2024 Cook County second installment tax bills will be mailed out on Friday, November 14th with second installment bills due on Monday, December 15, 2025. You can go to the Cook County Treasurer’s website – www.cookcountytreasurer.com to pay your bill electronically. […]
Continue Reading Much Delayed 2024 Cook County Second Installment Tax Bills will issue on November 14th and will be due on December 15, 2025

This article outlines how I passed the July 2025 UBE with a score high enough for admittance in any UBE jurisdiction. After passing the CA Bar exam in 2022, in late 2024 I ended up in the mid-west! Fortunately, given my decade+ experience as an attorney in Australia, I was able to become eligible to sit the Illinois Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 715. You might think that passing the UBE would be easy enough (after passing the CA Bar). However, speaking from experience I can advise that it isn’t that simple. In important ways (content…
Continue Reading How I passed the July 2025 Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) in Chicago, IL ➲ Study Strategy

A commonly asked question by Cook County property owners and taxpayers is when the second installment 2024 real estate tax bills will be issued and when will they be due?  Unfortunately, the 2024 second installment issuance and due dates are unknown as of the current date due to recurring problems with Cook County’s conversion to […]
Continue Reading Cook County Second Installment 2024 Tax Bills Continue to Be Delayed

On Thursday, May 29, 2025, the Illinois Department of Revenue announced a final 2024 Cook County Equalization Factor of 3.0355.  This final 2024 Cook County Equalization Factor is 0.64% higher than the 2023 Cook County Equalization Factor of 3.0163.  The final 2024 Cook County Equalization Factor is 6.56% higher than the tentative 2024 Cook County […]
Continue Reading 2024 Cook County Final Multiplier or Equalization Factor Set