Your use of the Cook County Treasurer’s Subsequent Tax Electronic Payment System (”STEPS”) is subject to all terms and conditions contained in this Online Agreement (the "Agreement"). NOTE: THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN MODIFIED AS OF MARCH 2020. AS SUCH, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY before proceeding, as your use of STEPS constitutes your agreement to all of its terms and conditions.

With STEPS, you:

• CAN pay the outstanding balance of unredeemed General Taxes for the current tax year and prior tax year (when available) as a subsequent tax (“sub tax”), as part of, and subsequent to, any tax sale purchase;
• CAN submit payment of delinquent tax, statutory interest, and applicable fees in full;
• CAN submit payments for single or multiple property index numbers (“PINs”) per transaction; and
• CAN submit payment via electronic funds transfer.

With STEPS, you:

• CANNOT pay more than the amount indicated as due;
• CANNOT pay via a passbook savings account or any other non-ACH debit eligible account;
• CANNOT submit multiple payments on the same PIN;
• CANNOT make partial payments;
• CANNOT pay by credit card;
• CANNOT pay taxes on any tax parcel from more than one bank account per payment;
• CANNOT pay any back tax, arrearage tax, circulator tax, pollution tax, or municipal special assessment; and
• CANNOT redeem tax sales or general forfeitures.

Availability of STEPS will be subject to the rules and regulations of the Cook County Treasurer’s Office (“CCTO”).

You may not make a partial payment. All payments must be for the full amount of taxes and statutory interest owed, including all related fees and charges related to the PIN at the time of payment.

The amount due is as of the date indicated by STEPS. Your payment will not be immediately reflected on the CCTO website. Your payment may take up to ten business days to be reflected on the CCTO’s website.

Payments are deemed accepted on the date and time that you submit your online payment request via STEPS, provided that funds are successfully transferred from your account based upon the bank account and bank routing numbers that you provided at the time you submitted your online payment request.

STEPS does not validate users’ account information. Improperly entering your bank account number or your bank's 9-digit ABA routing number can result in your online payment request being rejected. Users are solely responsible for ensuring that all information submitted necessary to transfer the payment funds is correct before submitting an online payment request. This especially includes the bank account and ABA routing numbers, and that the submitted account is ACH debit-eligible.

If you provide an incorrect bank account number, an incorrect 9-digit ABA bank routing number, or your electronic transfer is dishonored by your bank, you will be notified via U.S. mail that your STEPS request was rejected. You will also be assessed a $25 dishonored transaction fee. This notice will be mailed to the address provided during registration for STEPS. Letters notifying users that their payment attempt was rejected may take 7-10 business days to generate once the CCTO learns that an online payment request was unsuccessful or the payment was dishonored by the user's bank.

There is a non-refundable $0.50 processing fee per batch to use this service. This fee does not go to the County. This fee is collected and retained by the bank that provides the programming for STEPS. The CCTO reserves the right to change this processing fee. The CCTO will update this agreement in the event that changes are made to this convenience fee.

If your payment direction is dishonored by your bank (i.e. not sufficient funds, closed account, stop payment, incorrect bank routing or account information, etc.), there will be a $25.00 dishonored transaction fee.

Your bank statement will reflect one debit in the amount of your property tax payment (including all statutory interest and applicable fees), identified as "Cook County Treasurer," and one debit in the amount of the $0.50 processing fee charged per payment.

Both your Cook County Treasurer’s E-Receipt along with your bank statement indicating the successful transfer of funds to the CCTO will serve as proof of payment.

Online payment of subsequent taxes can only be made via STEPS. Payments made through other online or electronic payment services will not be accepted.

If you receive an error message indicating that your taxes cannot be paid online because they have already been paid, it is possible that you double-clicked the "submit" button when you submitted your online payment request. We recommend that if you receive this error message, you view your payment history page to confirm the transaction.

The "Confirmation Number" that you receive DOES NOT confirm a successful transaction. This number means that your Online Payment request has been successfully submitted. Receiving a "Confirmation Number" DOES NOT mean that your bank account number or your bank ABA routing number were entered correctly, and DOES NOT mean that sufficient funds are available with your bank. This number is merely your proof that you have submitted an online payment request, and in no way ensures a successful payment/transfer of funds.

To avoid the accrual of additional statutory interest, it is the duty and responsibility of the tax buyer to confirm with his/her own bank that the transfer of funds was successful.

Funds are typically transferred from your account by the end of the next business day following your online payment request; however, successful transactions are deemed accepted on the date that the tax buyer submitted the successful online payment request. As used herein, a successful transaction is defined as an online payment request that results in a successful transfer of funds from the user's bank account to the CCTO’s account.

1. Uses. You must not use email for communication with the CCTO regarding time-sensitive matters. If you send the CCTO a message using email, we will typically receive it by the following business day. By submitting an Email communication, you acknowledge that the CCTO may take a reasonable amount of time to respond to or act upon your message.
2. Email is Not Secure.Email transmissions are not secure. As such, we recommend that you do not send us or ask for sensitive information via any general or public email system.
3. Responses by Email.You agree that the CCTO may respond to you by email with regard to any non-confidential matter related to your online payment.

In the event that there are any contradictions between any content of the records maintained by the CCTO and your own personal records, the CCTO’s records will govern.

STEPS may be unavailable at certain times when computer systems require maintenance or upgrades, unforeseen maintenance is necessary, or major events occur, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, computer failures, interruptions in telephone service, or electrical outages. We will make all reasonable efforts to ensure the availability of STEPS. We are in no way liable, however, for the unavailability of all or any part of STEPS.

Your role is extremely important in the prevention of any wrongful use of your bank account information. You must promptly examine your statement upon receipt. If you think your bank statement is wrong or if you need more information about a transaction, please refer to your bank's Error Resolution Notice for the proper procedures to follow.

Data transferred via STEPS is encrypted in an effort to provide transmission security. Notwithstanding our efforts to ensure that our Online Payment is secure, by agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, you acknowledge that the Internet is inherently insecure and that all data transfers, including email, occur openly on the Internet and potentially can be monitored and read by others. We cannot and do not guarantee that data transfers using STEPS or Email transmittals to or from us are secure from unauthorized parties.

The CCTO may from time to time use reasonable additional or alternative procedures to ensure the security and confidentiality of your financial records and transactions when using STEPS. Such procedures may include, without limitation, encryption, creating security firewalls in our computer systems, and implementing other commercially reasonable security procedures. At all times, you agree to comply with all security procedures we may impose in connection with use of this service. You agree that all security procedures used by the CCTO, its affiliates, or agents in connection with STEPS are commercially reasonable security procedures and, as a result, you assume all risk of loss for unauthorized transactions where the CCTO has followed current security procedures. The CCTO assumes no responsibility for any loss due to unauthorized transactions. By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, you acknowledge that the CCTO reserves the right to change the security procedures from time to time upon notice to you (if such notice is required by law), and furthermore agree that your continued use of any such changed procedures evidences your acceptance of and agreement to the commercial reasonableness of such changed procedures.

The CCTO will exercise good faith and reasonable care in processing your transactions. You will similarly exercise good faith and reasonable care in observing and maintaining security procedures, in communicating with us, and in reviewing account statements for any errors or discrepancies.

You agree to the rules in this Agreement. Where there is a conflict between one or more provisions in this Agreement and the provisions in any other applicable agreement, the provisions in this Agreement will control. Your use of STEPS is also subject to the rules and regulations applicable to any relevant state and federal laws and regulations.

This Agreement applies to personal and business bank accounts, unless an exception is noted. As personal accounts may be subject to the Electronic Funds Transfer Act ("EFTA"), some personal accounts will be governed both by the rules of the EFTA and this Agreement. If the EFTA applies to an account and there is a conflict between the rules of the EFTA and this Agreement, the EFTA's provisions will control.

Your ability to transfer funds between certain accounts is limited by federal law. For example, you can make no more than six transfers from a Statement Savings, Passbook Savings, Ultimate Savings, or Money Market account during each statement period, and in the case of a Money Market account, no more than three of such transfers may be made by check, draft, or similar order made by you and payable to a third party. Transfers and tax bill payments made using STEPS may be counted against the permissible number of transfers. Your bank may reserve the right to limit the frequency and dollar amount of transactions from your accounts for security reasons.

The CCTO reserves the right to change the terms described in this Agreement. The CCTO also reserves the right to terminate this site, make access unavailable, and change the site content, with or without notice at any time.

The CCTO strives to provide complete, accurate, and timely account information. All information is either generated by the CCTO or obtained from sources believed by the CCTO to be accurate and reliable. However, due to the possibility of human and mechanical error, delayed updates, as well as other factors such as the difficulty of securing a website from unauthorized alterations or the occurrence of a system breakdown or other unavailability, neither the CCTO nor any of its affiliates or agents provide any representations or warranties regarding STEPS or any information contained therein, and the CCTO will not be liable to you if any such information is unavailable, delayed, or inaccurate. STEPS AND ALL INFORMATION THEREIN IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITH ALL FAULTS, AND WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS AND DISCLAIM ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF EVERY KIND, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OR ANY DUTIES (IF ANY) AS TO ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, SUITABILITY, AVAILABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR LACK OF NEGLIGENCE OR VIRUSES. The CCTO does not provide any warranty against infringement or of quiet enjoyment, and makes no other express warranties. With respect to electronic funds transfer problems, such as unauthorized transfers or our failure to properly complete authorized transfers, the extent of the CCTO’s liability is described above in Section I.

It is possible to contract a computer virus by using the Internet or downloading materials therefrom. The CCTO attempts to keep STEPS virus-free, but we cannot assure that STEPS or any software or other information downloaded therefrom will be virus-free. We are not responsible for any electronic virus or viruses that you may encounter, including, without limitation, any computer virus related problems that may be associated with the use of STEPS.

You are responsible for the installation, maintenance, and operation of your computer and your browser software. You assume all risk of error, failure, or non-performance, including the risk that you do not operate your computer or your software properly. The CCTO is not responsible for any errors or failures from any malfunction of your computer or your software. The CCTO has no liability to you for any damage or other loss, direct or consequential, which you may suffer or incur by reason of your use of your computer or your software. THE CCTO MAKES NO WARRANTY TO YOU REGARDING YOUR COMPUTER OR YOUR SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

To the fullest extent allowed by law, you agree that neither the CCTO nor any of its affiliates or agents will be liable to you or any third party for any loss, property damage, bodily injury, any consequential or incidental damages (including but not limited to lost profits or lost opportunity), or any other indirect, special, or punitive damages whatsoever, (i) that arise out of or are related to STEPS or any use of STEPS or the information contained therein, (ii) resulting from any failure to complete any transaction, or (iii) resulting from the installation, use or maintenance of any equipment, software, Internet browser, or access software, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. This exclusion of damages includes damages claimed in any cause of action, including but not limited to legal or equitable proceedings and claims relating to contract, tort, or products liability.

The CCTO will have no liability whatsoever if:

1. Through no fault of ours, you do not have enough money in your account to make a transfer;
2. A transfer would cause your balance to go over the credit limit on your Personal Reserve Account or any other Line of Credit product;
3. STEPS was not accessible or otherwise not working properly when you attempted to submit an online payment request;
4. Circumstances beyond our control (such as fire, flood or improper transmission or handling of payments by a third party, including the post office) that prevent a transfer of funds;
5. The funds are subject to legal process or other encumbrance restricting transfer;
6. The account is closed or frozen to transactions;
7. You or anyone acting on your behalf commits any fraud or violates any law or regulation;
8. Any electronic terminal, telecommunication device, or any part of the electronic fund transfer system is not working properly;
9. You have not properly followed our instructions on how to make a transaction, or if you provide us with wrong, incomplete, or inaccurate information, either electronically, orally, or in any written materials in connection with this service;
10. We have completed any transaction requested by your authorized agent;
11. PINs are not verified prior to submitting payment request; or
12. Applicable fees are not selected or deselected prior to submitting payment request.

Except as otherwise provided by law, you will be liable for any loss or damage resulting from your breach of any provision of this Agreement or to which your negligence contributed, or which resulted from unauthorized, fraudulent, or dishonest acts by others (other than the CCTO). Such liability includes instances when someone effects one or more transactions to your detriment. You are liable for all payments that you make or which are made or requested by your authorized agent, even if such authorized agent exceeds your authority and even if such authorized agent is not an authorized signer on your account.

The CCTO may delay exercising its rights without waiving them. Any waiver or partial exercise of one right does not constitute a waiver of other rights or the same right at another time. If any provision of this Agreement, or its application to any person or set of circumstances is held invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement, and the application to any other persons or set of circumstances, is not impaired or otherwise affected.

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, U.S.A. You consent to the jurisdiction and venue of the courts in Cook County, Illinois in all disputes arising out of or relating to STEPS, any use of it, or any information in it. You agree that a printed or electronic version of these terms and conditions (as changed from time to time) will be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceedings to the same extent as paper records. If you ever believe we have not adhered to this contract or are liable for any other reason. Any clause of this Agreement declared invalid shall be deemed severable and not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder.

The CCTO reserves the right to terminate this Agreement and your access to STEPS, in whole or in part, at any time and for any lawful reason, with or without notice.

The CCTO maintains the ability to assign or delegate certain rights and responsibilities under this Agreement to independent contractors or other third parties.

The user agrees that when he/she knows or has reason to know that an error occurred at any time during the Online Payment request transaction process as a result of his/her error, such as, but not limited to, entry of an incorrect bank account number, entry of an incorrect ABA bank routing number, payment on a wrong PIN, etc., the user will immediately contact his/her bank to determine which, if any, corrective measures may be taken. Once a payment is submitted to the CCTO, it cannot be canceled.

The user agrees that when (if ever) he/she knows or has reason to know that an error occurred as the result of any action of the CCTO, Chase Bank, or their respective agents, the user shall, within five business days of such actual or constructive knowledge, contact the CCTO at (312) 443-5100 and report such matter to a Customer Service representative, or report the same in writing to the Cook County Treasurer's Office, Attn: Director of Operations, 118 N. Clark Street, Room 112, Chicago, IL 60602. Any resolution of the purported error shall be as determined by the CCTO in its discretion and in accordance with applicable law and the policies and procedures of the CCTO.

All system errors or suspected system errors must be reported to the CCTO within five business days following the date on which the user first knew or should have known of the error or suspected error.

For all matters affecting this Agreement, you may call the CCTO at (312)-443-5100, or you may write to us at the following address: Cook County Treasurer's Office, Attn: Director of Operations, 118 N. Clark Street, Room 112, Chicago, IL, 60602.

I have read and agree to the TERMS AND CONDITIONS.