Cook County leaders want property tax relief for more seniors

As election season kicks off in earnest and the Springfield veto session hurtles to its conclusion , Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Assessor Fritz Kaegi are both pressing state legislators to expand property tax break eligibility for lower-income seniors.

But they have faced pushback from a group representing south suburban municipal leaders who fear those breaks would hike bills for everyone else, pushing up already-high tax rates and making collections even harder.

Success would give both leaders a chance to point to tangible property tax relief efforts by the time bills land and before voters consider their candidacies in the March Democratic primary election.

Both are backing legislation that would raise the income level for eligibility. The most straightforwar