Cook County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to propose an FY26 property tax rate at the voter-approval rate of 0.3355 and set public hearings for the final budget and for any tax-rate hearing on Sept. 8.

The vote followed a budget briefing in which staff explained the difference between the voter-approval rate and the no-new-revenue rate; the judge said the difference between those two options was about $1,500,000 in potential revenue for FY26. The court discussed trade-offs: choosing the lower no-new-revenue rate would reduce fund balance by that amount; choosing the voter-approval rate preserves capacity but could trigger a voter-approval election if the final adopted rate exceeds statutory thresholds.

County Judge stated, “The difference between the two is $1,500,000,” explaining why commissioners faced a consequential choice for fund balance and service funding. After a motion to propose the voter-approval rate of 0.3355 (moved by the County Judge and seconded by Commissioner Hallowell), the court recorded ayes and approved the proposal to publish that rate as the proposed tax rate.

The court then set the public hearing dates required by state law: a final-budget public hearing and a separate hearing regarding the proposed tax rate (if above the no-new-revenue threshold) both on Sept. 8, providing the statutory notice window the county needs before final adoption.

What happens next: county staff will publish the proposed rate and schedule required notices; if the county ultimately adopts a rate above the no-new-revenue rate, state law will require the additional public notice and a taxpayer approval process that could place a rate question on November ballots.

Discussion vs. decision: commissioners debated the implications of the two rates but made a formal motion and recorded a roll-call approval of the proposed voter-approval rate for publication; the vote does not itself raise taxes beyond publishing the proposed rate for public comment and the statutory process.