Condominium appeals are the largest single lane in the Cook County Board of Review's decision history and the one where attorney-filed books perform worst. From tax years 2023 through 2025, the Board issued 345,713 PIN-level decisions on condominium appeals. Attorneys filed 98.7 percent. The Board reduced 32 percent of them, and among the reductions the median cut was 2.6 percent of assessed value, about $526.
The county-wide average hides the township numbers that should decide whether a firm takes an association engagement at all. Attorney-filed condominium decisions, tax years 2023 through 2025:
- **Palatine:** 1,755 attorney-filed condo decisions, 0.0% reduction rate.
- **Hanover:** 1,114 attorney-filed condo decisions, 0.0% reduction rate.
- **Schaumburg:** 2,026 attorney-filed condo decisions, 0.05% reduction rate.
- **Orland:** 1,256 attorney-filed condo decisions, 0.2% reduction rate.
- **Lyons:** 1,091 attorney-filed condo decisions, 2.8% reduction rate.
- **Niles:** 1,703 attorney-filed condo decisions, 3.1% reduction rate.
- **Proviso:** 908 attorney-filed condo decisions, 3.9% reduction rate.
- **Palos:** 1,593 attorney-filed condo decisions, 6.3% reduction rate.
- **Bremen:** 1,030 attorney-filed condo decisions, 7.6% reduction rate.
- **Oak Park:** 819 attorney-filed condo decisions, 8.3% reduction rate.
- **Evanston:** 7,793 attorney-filed condo decisions, 13.0% reduction rate.
And at the other end: Elk Grove, 11,770 decisions, 52.8 percent reduced. Northfield, 8,562 and 49.6 percent. Lake View, 67,696 and 41.1 percent.
The Board's single most-used denial code across all attorney filings, 225,922 decisions in three years, is "condominium/cooperative analysis which considered relevant sales, occupancy factors, appraisal, and income/expense analysis where appropriate." That is the code Palatine's 1,755 files received.
Two things follow. The first is that an association engagement in a township on the top half of that table needs a reason to expect a different result than the record shows, and the engagement letter should say what that reason is. The second is procedural, and it is the rest of this article: a condominium appeal is a multi-PIN appeal by definition, and the Board's rule on multi-PIN complaints has no cure period.
Quick Answer
Attorney-filed condominium decisions in tax years 2023 through 2025 show Palatine at 1,755 decisions and a 0.0% reduction rate; Hanover is also 0.0%. County-wide, condo appeals saw a 32% reduction rate with a median cut of about $526 (2.6% of AV). Rule 9 requires all related PINs on one complaint - there is no cure period for a PIN left off.
Rule 9
"If the particular property in question consists of two or more Permanent Index Numbers, then all related Permanent Index Numbers MUST be listed on one complaint form."
One sentence, capital letters in the original. The PIN that is left off is not appealed, and in a thirty-day window it does not get a second chance.
Why one property is several PINs
- **Units with deeded parking or storage.** The unit is one PIN. A deeded space is often a second. A locker can be a third.
- **Associations.** Every unit's PIN, plus common-element parcels the association holds directly.
- **Commercial campuses.** Outlots, a parking structure under its own number, a yard platted separately from the building.
- **Assemblages.** A house on two lots. A store that grew onto the neighbor's parcel.
- **Divided or consolidated parcels.** A split or combination in a prior year may leave a new PIN while records still reference the old.
What goes wrong
**The complaint names the "main" PIN.** The unit is appealed; the parking space, with its own assessed value and its own bill, is not. The client sees one bill move and one bill stay and asks why.
**The association list misses units.** Built from a management roster instead of the county's record, it misses common-element PINs and units whose numbers changed after a resale with a combined parking deed.
**The campus is filed as two complaints.** Building and garage, treated as two properties. Rule 9 says related PINs go on one form. The Board may treat the second as a duplicate, and the income allocation becomes incoherent because each complaint tells half the story.
**The authorization does not match.** Rule 2 requires the Attorney Authorization Form before finalization, with no late acceptance. A form naming one PIN for a complaint listing four is a mismatch the clerk can question.
The reconciliation
- **Start from the county.** Pull every PIN tied to the address, the owner name, and the legal description from the Assessor's records and the Treasurer's bill history. Clients forget parking PINs. The Treasurer does not.
- **Map each PIN** to what it is: unit, parking, storage, outlot, yard, common element, with its current assessed value.
- **Decide what is related.** Rule 9 does not define the word. The safe reading is functional: owned together, used together. A deeded space used by the unit owner is related. A vacant lot three blocks away is a separate complaint.
- **Check for recent divisions.** File on the current number and note the history.
- **Match the authorization.** Every PIN on the complaint appears on the form, signed by someone with authority over all of them.
- **Allocate the argument.** For a campus, decide how the requested reduction splits across PINs before drafting.
Associations, specifically
Rule 1 requires that entities, and it names condominium associations, be represented by an attorney at the Board. An association appeal is therefore an attorney's file, and the PIN list is its foundation. Build it from the county's record of the declaration and current unit PINs, verify against the association's roster, and reconcile every difference before filing. A unit left off is an owner who does not get the reduction, and that owner will know.
The numbers behind this article
Decision counts and reduction rates are Censum's tabulation of the Cook County Board of Review Appeal Decision History dataset (county open data, 7pny-nedm), copy dated May 20, 2026; PIN-level decisions, tax year 2025 incomplete, so recent-year rates may rise as pending decisions post. Censum is independent and not affiliated with the Board or any county office. Censum's parcel record groups related PINs by ownership and use, so a multi-parcel complaint starts from the county's list rather than the client's memory.
Sources
- Cook County Board of Review Official Rules
- Censum tabulation of the Cook County Board of Review Appeal Decision History dataset (Cook County open data, 7pny-nedm), copy dated May 20, 2026; PIN-level decisions; tax year 2025 incomplete in that copy.
- Rules cited: Cook County Board of Review Official Rules 1, 2, 9, last updated July 27, 2026.
FAQ
Which townships show near-zero condo reduction rates?
Among attorney-filed condo decisions 2023-2025: Palatine 1,755 at 0.0%; Hanover 1,114 at 0.0%; Schaumburg 2,026 at 0.05%; Orland 1,256 at 0.2%. Tax year 2025 is incomplete, so recent-year rates may rise as pending decisions post.
What does Rule 9 require for multi-PIN property?
If the property consists of two or more Permanent Index Numbers, all related PINs MUST be listed on one complaint form. A PIN left off is not appealed.
What is the Board's most-used denial code on attorney filings?
225,922 decisions in three years under the condominium/cooperative analysis code - the code Palatine's 1,755 files received.
Does Censum file or represent clients?
No. Censum LLC is independent property-tax intelligence and docket tooling. It is not a law firm. The attorney files and makes every legal judgment.
Next step
Look up the association or campus in the county record, map every related PIN (unit, parking, storage, common element), and match the authorization form before drafting. The attorney decides whether the township record supports taking the engagement.
Censum LLC is independent and not affiliated with Cook County or any government agency.