At the Village of Dolton’s community "Tea with the Trustees," Trustee Norwood told residents that tax-appeal forms were available at the meeting and that the township assessor and her team (Cassandra Elston Hobert named) will process them, saving residents a trip to the assessor’s office.

"Once the forms are passed out, I'll let you know what parts are most pertinent," Trustee Norwood said, advising residents that the essential fields include the property owner name, phone number, email address, home address and property identification number (PIN). She recommended residents can look up their PIN on the Cook County website if they do not have their tax letter on hand.

Norwood also previewed the village's housing program, saying the board held a housing-committee meeting where residents provided input and the board has since made decisions that will be discussed at the next calendar ("CAL") meeting. She said the program will include multiple components so that different approaches can suit different residents and invited final input while the board completes the blueprint.

A resident in the audience said they had received a roughly $1,000 tax reduction after filing an appeal and encouraged others to fill out the forms distributed at the meeting.

Next steps: Tax-appeal forms distributed at the meeting will be collected and processed by township assessor staff; the board plans a dedicated discussion of the housing program at the next CAL meeting and expects to announce additional program components next month.