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MARIA PAPPAS
COOK COUNTY TREASURER
MARIA PAPPAS
COOK COUNTY TREASURER
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Michael Puccinelli
Director of Media & Public Relations • Communications
312.603.3211
mpuccinelli@cookcountytreasurer.com
Erika Maldonado
Hispanic Liaison
312.603.5057
emaldonado@cookcountytreasurer.com
Office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas
118 North Clark Street, Room 212
Chicago, Illinois 60602
312.603.6202
news@cookcountytreasurer.com
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Treasurer Maria Pappas featured in Women and Leadership Archives at Loyola University Chicago
Cook County Treasurer's Office - 6/11/2024

More than 34,000 documents, multimedia files and other items highlighting the career accomplishments of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas are featured in the Women and Leadership Archives at Loyola University Chicago.

A five-minute video that captures Pappas’ achievements and her desire to make a difference in the lives of others may be viewed at this link.

Pappas, a Loyola alumna, is among dozens of esteemed academics, artists and civic leaders whose personal papers are housed in Loyola’s Women and Leadership Archives. Members of the public may make an appointment to view the archives at Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus in Chicago.

“I am honored and humbled to be part of such a prestigious collection,” Pappas said. “The Women and Leadership Archives showcase the life work of many trailblazers.”

Others featured in Loyola’s archives include Carol Mosely Braun, the first Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate and the first woman to represent Illinois in the Senate; the late Corrine Wood, who served as Illinois lieutenant governor; and Jean Dolores Schmidt, a retired educator and ardent Loyola Ramblers booster better known as “Sister Jean.”

The Pappas collection includes media records, photographs and videos of ethnic and cultural events and copies of multilingual brochures and other outreach materials that were created to help taxpayers understand the property tax system.

Pappas was raised in West Virginia, where she earned degrees in sociology from West Liberty State College and in guidance and counseling from West Virginia University. When she moved to Chicago in the 1970s, she worked with public housing residents enrolled in a drug-abuse prevention program. She earned a doctorate in counseling and psychology from Loyola University of Chicago and a law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Just as Pappas transformed her life from humble roots in rural Appalachia, she has transformed how the Cook County Treasurer’s Office operates and serves taxpayers. She served as a Cook County Board commissioner from 1990 to 1998, when she was first elected Treasurer. Pappas embraced technology and automation to modernize the Treasurer’s Office and to reduce employee head counts. She cut spending, championed transparency and promoted disclosure requirements that have made it easier for citizens to monitor government spending.

Pappas prioritized creating a website, cookcountytreasurer.com, that averages nearly a million visits per month so taxpayers can check their payments, search for refunds, see possible missing exemptions, and more.

She created a think tank of researchers, hired artificial intelligence experts and spearheaded studies that exposed lingering effects of racist housing practices from decades ago. At her urging lawmakers adopted historic reforms that lowered interest rates charged on past due taxes. Through her Black and Latino Houses Matter programs more than $300 million has been refunded to Black and Latino homeowners since 2020.

COOK COUNTY TREASURER'S OFFICE
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118 North Clark Street, Room 112
Chicago, Illinois 60602
(312) 443-5100
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Payment Plan Calculator
Check Your Payment Status or Make an Online Payment
Pay by Mail or in Person
Pay At Chase Bank
Pay At Your Local Community Bank
Get a Copy of Your Tax Bill
Returned Checks
Information about Prior Year Property Taxes
If Taxes Were Sold
Single or Multiple Payments Via ACH
Multiple Payments Via Wire Transfer
Exemptions and Savings
Exemption History Search
Homeowner Exemption
Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption
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Persons with Disability Exemption
Home Improvement Exemption
Property Tax Relief for Military Personnel
Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption
First Responder's Surviving Spouse Tax Abatement
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Overpayment Refund Search
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The Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferral Program
Third-Party Notification
Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption
Understanding Your Taxes
How the Illinois Property Tax System Works
Cómo Funciona el Sistema de Impuestos a la Propiedad en Illinois
Understanding Your Tax Bill
Get a Copy of Your Tax Bill
About Your Property Index Number (PIN)
Update Your Name or Mailing Address
Monitoring Your Mortgage
Taxing Districts' Financial Statements and Disclosures
Receive Your Tax Bill By Email
Sign In to Your Electronic Billing Account
20-Year Tax Bill History
View Taxing District Debt Attributed to Your Property
Tax and Scavenger Sales
General Information
Search to See If Your Property Has Sold Taxes
Foreign Language Brochures
Foreign Language Brochures
Forms
Update Your Name or Mailing Address
Duplicate or Overpayment Refund
Property Tax Appeal Board Decisions
Certificate of Error Refund
Third Party Notification Request
Property Tax Relief for Military Personnel
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request
The Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferral Program
About the Office
Duties and Responsibilities of the Cook County Treasurer
Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer's Biography
Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer's Resume
Freedom of Information Requests
State of the Office
Investment Policy
Frequently Asked Questions
News and Press Videos
News and Press Videos
Important Dates
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