Dorr Township has Until August 8, 2025, to Appeal Property Taxes

O'Connor discusses how Dorr Township has until August 8, 2025, to appeal property taxes.

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, August 7, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ --


McHenry County sits at an inflection point between its rural past and a suburban future. As the collar counties around Chicago continue to grow, parts of the quaint past drop away, leaving the area open to development. All across McHenry County, townships have been seeing their value rapidly increase. This is not the result of a focused reassessment, but the result of general growth that is bleeding into the area.

Dorr Township fits well into this gray area. Stuck between the urbanizing east and rural west, Dorr Township is a microcosm of the coming changes. Much larger than neighboring Chemung and Richmond Townships, Dorr is currently experiencing some of the highest property value growth in McHenry County. Whether a result of economic growth or simply overzealous assessment, the only way to lower these rapidly increasing values is with property tax protests. O’Connor will discuss how fast Dorr Township’s property values are soaring.

Dorr Township Home Values Rise 11%

While not a big urban environment, Dorr Township is still much larger than many of its fellow McHenry areas. In 2025, the assessed property value of homes saw a stark rise of 11%, going from $2.08 billion to $2.30 billion. Homes worth between $250,000 and $500,000 were responsible for $1.24 billion of the total value, achieving that number after an increase of 10% from 2024. The second-most value came from homes worth under $250,000. These modest homes rose 11% to a total of $497.16 million. Dorr Township certainly stayed true to its roots in regard to homes, with over half of all value coming from small-to-average residences.

The gains to total value continued as the size of residential properties entered rarified air. Homes worth between $500,000 and $750,000 made up the third-largest chunk of value, totaling $334.83 million after seeing a jump of 11%. Homes worth between $750,000 and $1 million likewise had a strong showing thanks to an 11% increase in value, which was matched by homes worth between $1 million and $1.5 million. For a smaller township, the presence and growth of many homes worth over $1.5 million was surprising. These homes increased by 11%, going from $88.23 million in 2024 to $97.69 million in 2025.

An overall increase of 11% for home values is not typical for most areas, not even in collar counties, and far exceeds expected growth or inflation. Increasing home values can put incredible strain on towns and neighborhoods. This is incredibly common in Cook County, as giant swings in value can make homes unaffordable overnight, especially during the legendary triennial reassessments. Such anomalies in home totals indicate rampant overvaluation, which is one of the top grounds for property tax appeals. It is clear that the residents of Dorr Township should be looking into whatever appeals they feel are appropriate to stand up to the township assessor.

Dorr Compared to Other McHenry Townships

We have previously explored two other McHenry County townships. Chemung Township experienced a rise of 9% when it came to home values, reaching a total of $567.66 million. Richmond Township, on the other hand, saw an increase of 11%, going from $876.40 million to $971.65 million. Due to their smaller sizes, even tiny changes can have outside effects on home totals, but when compared to Dorr, we can see this as a stable trend. It appears that residential values are increasing between 9-11% across McHenry County, no matter the size of the township. Whether this is natural growth or overzealous taxation is yet to be seen, but previous Illinois history should lean towards the latter. In any case, taxpayers need to be vigilant and prepared.

Commercial Properties Soar 9%

While residential spikes can ruin a community, rampant jumps in the taxable value of businesses can be just as destabilizing. Commercial properties in Dorr Township totaled an impressive $449.93 million in 2024, before they experienced a 9% jump to $492.34 million. This was quite the shift in one year, especially given that business properties in the area were not unsubstantial. Again, this is beyond what one would expect from inflation and slow economic growth.

$241. 30 million in value was generated by commercial properties worth over $1.5 million, an increase of 9%. These large properties tend to dominate in urban areas, though not as much in rural ones. This category of business was by far the largest contributor to the value total, adding $19.59 million in 2025 alone. Commercial properties worth between $1 million and $1.5 million came in a distant second with a total of $68.12 million, an increase of 10%.

Smaller businesses and commercial properties got in on the increases as well. Those worth between $750,000 and $1 million rose by 11%, while those between $500,000 and $750,000 grew by 9%. Commercial properties at the very bottom of the scale did not escape either, with those worth less than $250,000 growing by 11%. The overall distribution of value in Dorr Township was much more evenly spread when compared to Chemung or Richmond, which were both top-heavy.

Dorr Township Appeal Deadline is August 8, 2025

While these values may be large and unwelcome, there is still time to appeal. Besides exemptions, the only way to reduce the property tax burden in Illinois is with property tax protests. Cook County has been experiencing record property tax protests in 2025, and this has quickly spread to the collar counties and beyond.

While they may not face a huge reassessment like the people of Cook County have to, taxpayers in Dorr Township and other parts of Illinois outside of Chicago do have one large obstacle when it comes to property tax protests. Cook County has several protest deadlines for each township, while all those outside do not. That means that the looming deadline of August 8, 2025, is the only chance that Dorr Township property owners have to reduce their taxable value.

Appeals to the Dorr Township Assessor and the McHenry County Board of Review (BOR) are both cut off on the same day. While informal assessor appeals have been traditional for the collar counties, the BOR is becoming more of a target every year, and many feel it gets a fairer shake to home and business owners. Even if the goal is ultimately an appeal before the Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) in Springfield, appeals must first go through the assessor or BOR. Few taxpayers even know about these deadlines, forcing them to continue paying the inflated full amount. Much like sudden tax rises, whether this is a bug or a feature is up for debate.

About O'Connor:
O’Connor is one of the largest property tax consulting firms, representing 185,000 clients in 49 states and Canada, handling about 295,000 protests in 2024, with residential property tax reduction services in Illinois, Texas, Georgia, and New York. O’Connor’s possesses the resources and market expertise in the areas of property tax, cost segregation, commercial and residential real estate appraisals. The firm was founded in 1974 and employs a team of 1,000 worldwide. O’Connor’s core focus is enriching the lives of property owners through cost effective tax reduction.

Property owners interested in assistance appealing their assessment can enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program ™. There is no upfront fee, or any fee unless we reduce your property taxes, and easy online enrollment only takes 2 to 3 minutes.

Patrick O'Connor, President
O'Connor
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