What happens if you don't pay property taxes in Chicago?

Under Illinois law, the Treasurer's Office is required to conduct two types of tax sales in which delinquent property taxes are sold.

The first is the Annual Tax Sale, held once a year, sometime after the Second Installment. If property taxes for the immediately preceding tax year are delinquent on a parcel, they are offered for sale to tax purchasers at the Annual Tax Sale. The sale may be held any time from the fall of that year to the fall of the following year.

The biennial Scavenger Sale (conducted in odd-numbered years), offers taxes on properties that have delinquencies on two or more years that were not purchased at an Annual Tax Sale. In Cook County, the sale has traditionally taken place in the fall or early winter months.