SFBBG offers decades of experience in appeals of real estate assessments and tax rates in Cook County and other counties throughout the State of Illinois. Our real estate tax attorneys are involved directly in all phases of the work to ensure that our clients receive personal attention and the maximum potential benefit. We also maintain close relationships with government officials and appear personally for assessment hearings. SFBBG actively pursues every avenue to contest taxes, ranging from complaints with the county assessors and boards of review to appeals before the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board and lawsuits in the circuit courts. We contest both property valuations and tax rates.
The combination of legal knowledge and experience enables our staff to target the best approach to obtain tax reductions by selecting the right legal forum and the best use of financial information. The Firm has broad experience through representation of commercial office buildings, large apartment complexes, banks, industrial properties and condominiums.
Client Services
Our services include petitions for tax exemptions for educational and charitable organizations, as well as petitions for special tax incentives, including incentives for rehabilitation of real estate or renewed use of abandoned property. The Firm prosecutes real estate tax appeals on a contingent fee basis. If we do not obtain a tax reduction, there is no charge for our services. If we obtain a tax reduction, we are compensated based on a percentage of the tax savings. To learn more about the appeal process, click the link below.
Get Started
For information about the Firm’s real estate tax appeals work, please contact Jason Newton.
Our Practice Areas
Business
Our team will give efficient counsel for your business and the various things that affect businesses like employment, sales reps, intellectual property, etc.
Finance
SFBBG is leading the industry in providing excellent counsel for financial services such as banking & creditor rights, estate planning, probate, and trust.
Litigation
We zealously litigate, arbitrate and mediate. Nothing drives a favorable outcome more than readiness for a smooth and successful trial. We're here to help!
Real Estate
Our attorneys are trusted counsel and business advisors with a broad range of real estate expertise to serve the firm’s sophisticated clientele.
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“One of the best features of SFBBG is the emphasis placed on establishing long-term relationships with clients, relationships that will often lead to our serving as outside, inside counsel.”
News & Updates
Illinois Supreme Court Rules in Favor of SFBBG Client in Defamation Case
On November 21, 2024, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its decision in the case Glorioso v. Sun-Times Media Holdings, LLC, (2024 IL 130137). SFBBG and its attorney Phil Zisook represent the Plaintiff in the case, Mauro Glorioso, the former Executive Director and General Counsel of the Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board (“PTAB”).
Appellate Court Holds That Lawsuit Filed by SFBBG Should Proceed and Is Not a SLAPP Suit
On May 8, 2023, SFBBG attorneys Phil Zisook and Bill Klein prevailed in an Illinois Appellate Court defamation case, Mauro Glorioso v Sun-Times Media Holdings, LLC, and Tim Novak. In the case, Zisook and Klein argued that Sun-Times’ articles defamed Mauro Glorioso and constituted false light invasion of privacy.
SFBBG Prevails in Illinois Appellate Court
On August 9, 2022, SFBBG attorneys, Phil Zisook and Bill Klein, prevailed in an Illinois Appellate Court case where our clients were sued concerning a failed real estate transaction. The proposed transaction involved the transfer of three parcels of real estate consisting of a golf course in Michigan, a Chicago office building, and a River North condominium.