North Shore homeowners already facing late property tax bills and a 39% jump in assessed values now face a third fiscal pressure: Cook County is projecting a $550 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2027.

The gap is the largest since Board President Toni Preckwinkle took office in 2011, according to the county's budget office. It lands as New Trier Township residents in Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield absorb reassessments that pushed the township's total assessed value up 39% and a township-wide median single-family home sale price of $1,314,000.

More than half the deficit, $258 million, stems from a January 2026 Cook County Circuit Court ruling that the county illegally used transportation tax revenues to fund the sheriff, state's attorney, public defender, and circuit court clerk during fiscal year 2023.

The Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association originally filed the lawsuit in 2018. The county plans to appeal but is still awaiting the judge's final order.

Another $214 million comes from the county health fund, where federal Medicaid eligibility cuts are projected to push uncompensated care costs to roughly $470 million, according to Cook County Health estimates. Payroll increases account for $176 million more, after the county awarded 3.5% retroactive raises dating to 2021 and 5% raises in 2025.

"This is going to be a really tough budget year, but we begin it from a position of strength," Preckwinkle said, citing $1.4 billion in reserves and improved bond ratings. She said new taxes or fees would be "a last resort" but offered no concrete cuts or new revenue proposals.

The county does expect to close fiscal year 2026 with a $240 million surplus, boosted by a $115 million tobacco tax settlement against Sam's Club and $122.7 million in higher-than-expected sales tax receipts. County policy prohibits using one-time surpluses to plug future-year gaps; the money goes to reserves.

Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton, a Democrat whose 14th District covers all five North Shore villages plus Arlington Heights, Glenview, Northbrook, and Palatine, has not publicly commented on the deficit projection.

Meanwhile, property tax bills for all five North Shore communities will arrive roughly two months late this year. Preckwinkle said bills will be mailed in September and due at the start of October, rather than the standard July mailing. The county has set aside $300 million in zero-interest bridge loans for suburban taxing districts that rely on property taxes for more than half their revenue.

Applications open Monday, July 20.

At a Wednesday, June 10 Cook County Board hearing, suburban library and school officials criticized the ongoing delays. School districts countywide estimated the workarounds cost them more than $120 million. Glencoe Public Library was among the North Shore taxing bodies that received incorrect tax distributions for the 2024 tax year, getting more than it had levied due to county calculation errors.

Preckwinkle will not formally propose her fiscal year 2027 budget until this fall.

Budget overview hearings are scheduled for Tuesday, July 21 at 118 N. Clark St. in Chicago; the public can attend virtually. Preckwinkle faces challenger Chicago Ald. Brendan Reilly in the Tuesday, November 3 general election.