With home resale values generally falling across Chicago and Cook County, property owners were expecting to see lower real estate tax bills earlier this month.

Despite the general decline in Cook County property values, some Chicago property owners in neighborhoods such as Lincoln Park, Lakeview, North Center and Hyde Park were hit with hefty increases, while others appealed their assessments and received reductions.

Experts say the total tax burden faced by both homeowners and business in Chicago will rise less than four-tenths of 1 percent, and suburban tax hikes will average around 2.5 percent.

“Even though most home resale values generally are lower because of the recession and the foreclosure crisis, some Cook County homeowners were hit with assessment increases in the 2009 reassessment,” noted Michael Griffin, a real estate tax appeal attorney. “The lucky ones saw their assessments staying flat.”

A record 430,000 property owners filed an appeal with the Board of Review and many received a reduction in their assessment. Those who won will pay a lower second installment 2009 tax bill on December 13.

Everyone wants to blame former Cook County Assessor James Houlihan for the increases, but he was just doing his job. Effective December 6, the job will belong to new Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, who recently won election in November.

The assessor’s office reassesses the value of each of the 1.5 million parcels of property in Cook County every three years. The reassessment is done on a rotating basis among three regions of Cook County — north suburbs, south suburbs, and the city of Chicago. For 2009 and this tax bill, it was the city’s turn.

For residential properties, the Assessor has determined the assessment by comparing each property to similar properties in a given area. Increased real estate tax reassessment generally means higher property taxes, but the relationship, or ratio, is not one to one. An assessment increase does not equal the same percentage increase in taxes, experts say.

For 2009, Assessor Houlihan lowered the residential assessment level to 10 percent from 16 percent. Assessment levels of commercial and industrial properties also were lowered to 25 percent from 36 percent or 38 percent.

Chicago-area real estate appraisers and some Realtors estimated that real estate values actually have depreciated to pre-2000 levels — a decrease in value of more than 40 percent.

What can a property owner do to control real estate assessment increases and tax hikes? First check how your property’s assessed valuation compares with similar properties in your neighborhood. Visit www.cookcountyassessor.com or call 312-443-7550.

Also check to see if the assessor has listed any exemptions for which you are eligible, such as the Homeowners Exemption, Senior Citizen Exemption, and Senior Assessment Freeze Exemption. These exemptions can save you hundreds of dollars in taxes.

If you feel you have grounds for a reduction, file an appeal with the Assessor or the Board of Review. The appeals can be filed at either office or at the office’s website. Or, call Michael Griffin, a professional tax assessment lawyer, at 312-943-1789. Griffin says there are three key grounds for an assessment reduction:

Assessor’s error. If you can prove the assessor made an error in the description of your property, you can win a reduction. However, the error must have an impact on the estimated market value of your home.

A uniformity complaint. This means your home’s assessment is not in line with the assessed valuation of other similar homes in your neighborhood. A homeowner should find at least three examples of similar homes with lower assessments than theirs.

Evaluations approach. Homeowners file an appeal and submit a recent closing statement for their home and/or purchase prices of homes similar to yours to show that the assessed value is greater than 10 percent of the purchase price.

If an initial appeal at the Assessor’s office doesn’t lower the assessed value, there are two other appeal options: the Cook County Board of Review (312-603-5542), and the Property Tax Appeals Board (217-785-6076).

Griffin advises homeowners in recently assessed neighborhoods to carefully look at the assessor’s estimate of your property’s market value. “Ask yourself, ‘Is it fair?’” Griffin said.

Don DeBat’s weekly real estate column is syndicated by DeBat Media Services. For more home-buying information visit his website at: www.dondebat.net.