Mcdonough County, IL Property Records: Search Deeds, Owners, Tax Records, and Maps
If you're searching property records in McDonough County, three county offices maintain the information you need. The County Clerk doubles as Recorder of Deeds. The Supervisor of Assessments handles parcel data, and the Treasurer handles tax bills. The system covers roughly 18,000 in the county and runs entirely at the county level under Illinois law.
McDonough County’s housing market is driven by Western Illinois University in Macomb. Listed properties are available between 60 and 90 days after listing. The housing stock comprises both single-family detached homes and student rentals centered in Macomb, Bushnell, and Colchester.
Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of {median_home_value} and median rent of {median_rent}, alongside a median household income of {median_household_income} and a median real estate tax rate of {median_real_est_tax} as a percentage of the property's assessed value.
How to Look Up McDonough County Property Records
Recorded property documents, including deeds, in McDonough County may be accessed through the County Clerk and Recorder’s office in person or by contacting the Recorder at (309) 833-2474. Property tax records are available online through the property tax inquiry portal.
If you need… | Use this office | Free online portal |
|---|---|---|
A deed, mortgage, lien, or plat | County Clerk and Recorder | portal |
Ownership, assessed value, exemptions | Supervisor of Assessments | |
A tax bill or to pay taxes | County Treasurer | portal |
A parcel map or GIS layer | McDonough County GIS |
Who Keeps McDonough County Property Records?
The Illinois system pushes property recordkeeping down to McDonough County under the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) and the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200). Three separate offices in the county handle the work:
The Supervisor of Assessments equalizes township-level assessments to the statutory 33.33% ratio, administers homestead exemptions, and serves as Clerk of the Board of Review during the appeal season.
The County Clerk and Recorder is the public registry for deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, easements, and similar instruments. In McDonough County, this office is combined with the County Clerk, which is the standard arrangement in counties of this size.
The County Treasurer prepares the tax bills, accepts payment throughout the year, runs the delinquent-tax sale annually, and processes owner redemption from tax buyers.
McDonough County was organized in 1826 and named for Commodore Thomas Macdonough, the U.S. Navy commander victorious at the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814. Western Illinois University, founded in 1899, anchors Macomb.
How to Search McDonough County Property Records Online
Search McDonough County property records by walking through the three county portals in sequence. Each portal covers a different slice of the data, and pulling all three gives you a complete picture for any parcel.
Begin with the McDonough County Assessor portal. Address, owner name, and PIN searches all work. Each result reveals current ownership, the assessment value, characteristics like square footage and year built, recent sales prices, and any homestead exemptions filed.
Pull the tax bill from the McDonough County Treasurer office. The portal lists current and prior-year amounts, payment history, taxing-district splits, and flags any delinquency or pending refund.
Recorded documents live with the County Clerk and Recorder office. The portal accepts searches by party name, document number, PIN, or recorded date. Free guest searches show the index; full images often require a pay-per-search or subscription option.
Once you have the most recent deed, work backward through the chain of title. On each prior deed, the grantor should match the grantee on the one before. Any gap is a red flag that warrants a professional title search.
The county GIS portal handles mapping needs. Parcel boundaries, zoning overlays, FEMA flood zones, and aerial imagery layer onto a single interactive map.
Assessor: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data
Property valuation in McDonough County is handled by the Supervisor of Assessments. The office tracks every parcel's owner, characteristics, equalized assessed value, exemption status, and recent sale activity.
Office | Supervisor of Assessments |
|---|---|
Address | McDonough County Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455 |
Phone | (309) 837-3122 |
Hours | Mon - Fri (typical office hours; confirm before visiting) |
Search portal | |
Search by | Address, owner name, or PIN |
County Clerk and Recorder: Deeds, Mortgages, and Liens
Recorded documents in McDonough County run through the County Clerk and Recorder. The office handles the formal recording, maintains the searchable index, and produces certified copies on request.
Office | County Clerk and Recorder |
|---|---|
Address | 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455 |
Phone | (309) 833-2474 |
Online search | In person access |
Search by | Grantor, grantee, document number, PIN, or recorded date |
Treasurer: Tax Bills and Payments
The McDonough County Treasurer mails the tax bills, processes payments, runs the annual tax sale, and handles tax-deed redemption. The Treasurer's portal is the source for current bills, payment history, and delinquency status.
Office | McDonough County Treasurer |
|---|---|
Address | 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455 |
Phone | (309) 833-2032 |
Payment portal | In person |
Property Tax in McDonough County: Rates, Exemptions, and Appeals
The Illinois Property Tax Code governs how McDonough County calculates and collects property taxes. The basic math: fair market value × 33.33% assessment ratio × state equalization factor − exemptions = equalized assessed value, then × combined tax rate = bill.
Homestead exemptions
The main exemptions that McDonough County homeowners qualify for fall into five categories. Each reduces the EAV before the combined tax rate is applied:
General Homestead Exemption: Up to $6,000 EAV reduction for owner-occupied homes (35 ILCS 200/15-175). McDonough County uses the baseline tier (applicable in most Illinois counties) under the three-tier statutory structure.
Senior Homestead Exemption: Up to $5,000 EAV reduction for owners 65 and older under 35 ILCS 200/15-170.
Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze: Freezes assessed value at a base year for seniors with household income at or below $75,000 (indexed to CPI from 2026).
Disabled Veterans Standard Homestead: Tiered by VA disability rating: $2,500 EAV at 30-49%, $5,000 at 50-69%, full exemption at 70%+.
Persons with Disabilities and Home Improvement: $2,000 EAV reduction for permanent disability; separate four-year exemption shielding up to $75,000 of improvement value.
Appealing an assessment
Two appeal levels exist. The County Board of Review takes initial appeals within 30 days of the notice. If the Board denies, escalate to PTAB within 30 days. Successful appeals at either level reduce the EAV and lower the bill.
GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer
Parcel mapping in McDonough County runs through the county GIS portal. Beyond parcel boundaries, the GIS includes zoning, school districts, voting precincts, floodplains, and historical aerial imagery from multiple dates.
County GIS portal: The county's web GIS layers parcels, zoning, and floodplains with recent aerial imagery for McDonough County.
Illinois Geological Survey clearinghouse: The state-level ISGS clearinghouse hosts statewide layers including soil, hydrology, and DEM data.
Foreclosure and the Annual Tax Sale
Illinois runs judicial mortgage foreclosures through the McDonough County Circuit Court, under 735 ILCS 5/15-1101 et seq. A separate annual tax sale handles unpaid property taxes, under 35 ILCS 200, Article 21. The two processes work differently and produce different rights.
Annual tax sale
Tax delinquency runs through an annual sale conducted by the Treasurer. The bidding begins at 9%, with buyers bidding the penalty rate down; the lowest rate wins. Winners receive tax certificates rather than deeds.
Right of redemption
Property owners have two to two-and-a-half years to redeem after the tax sale, under 35 ILCS 200/21-345. Redemption requires paying the original taxes, the penalty interest at the bid rate (compounded every six months), tax-buyer costs, and any subsequent taxes the buyer paid.
Scavenger sales
A scavenger sale runs every two years under 35 ILCS 200/21-145 for properties that have been delinquent three or more years and didn't sell at the annual tax sale. Bidding is on a dollar amount rather than a penalty rate.
Costs to Access Property Records
Property-records access in McDonough County is free for online searches. Paper copies and certified copies carry per-page fees set by the county, and new recordings follow Illinois's Predictable Fee Schedule.
The Predictable Fee Schedule applies in McDonough County under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2. Documents are categorized into five classes: deeds, mortgages, leases, miscellaneous, and non-conforming, with a single flat fee per class. Non-conforming filings carry a doubled fee.
On top of the recording fee, Illinois imposes a state real estate transfer tax of $0.50 per $500 of consideration. McDonough County adds another $0.25 per $500. Most municipalities outside Chicago and a few suburbs do not impose a separate transfer tax.
Service | Fee (McDonough County) |
|---|---|
Online search at the Recorder's portal | Free |
Plain copy of a recorded document | Per-page fee set by county ordinance |
Certified copy | Plain-copy fee plus certification charge |
Deed (flat fee, all-in) | Set per Predictable Fee Schedule under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.1 |
Mortgage (flat fee, all-in) | Set per Predictable Fee Schedule |
Non-conforming document penalty | Doubled fee under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018 |
State real estate transfer tax | $0.50 per $500 of consideration |
County real estate transfer tax | $0.25 per $500 of consideration |
How to Record a Document
Most McDonough County homeowners never record a document directly. The title company handles recording at closing. But if you're filing a quitclaim, a mortgage release, or a personal lien, this is the path through the Recorder's office:
Start with formatting compliance. The statute (55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2) requires 8.5x11 white paper, 20-lb minimum weight, black ink, half-inch margins, and a 3x5 blank space in the first page's upper right corner for the recording certificate.
Look up the recording fee on McDonough County's Predictable Fee Schedule. The fee is flat per document class. Non-conforming filings (poor formatting, wrong paper, missing PIN) get charged at double the standard rate.
File the PTAX-203 real estate transfer declaration through Illinois MyDec at the same time you file the deed. Almost every property transfer requires this declaration, including exempt transfers. The MyDec filing accompanies the recording packet.
Three filing options: walk-in at 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455, mail-in (include payment and return envelope), or e-recording through approved vendors like Simplifile or CSC. Once recorded, the document gets a permanent recording number and joins the public index.
The Recorder assigns a permanent document number at filing. Keep this number with the original; it's the fastest lookup key for any future certified copy request or title research.
FAQs
Yes, property records in McDonough County are public, unless made confidential by the law. Property records may be accessed in person via the McDonough County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
To get a certified copy of a deed in McDonough County, visit the County Clerk and Recorder’s office in person. Information such as the property owner’s name or property index number is required to obtain certified copies of the deed. The county charges a $1 per page fee for each standard copy of a deed plus a certification fee.
Yes, you can file a quitclaim deed yourself in McDonough County. To do this, obtain the deed form, sign and notarize it, complete the PTAX-203 form, and then file the deed at the McDonough County Recorder of Deeds office.
Yes, you can record property documents online in McDonough County. E-recording is an electronic submission of property documents directly to the McDonough County Clerk and Recorder’s office online. E-recording may be conducted through authorized vendors such as Simplifile or CSC.
The Illinois Predictable Fee Schedule is a fixed-fee system structured for recording property documents. You may check the McDonough fee schedule online during property records transactions.
The state equalization factor, also called the multiplier, is a method used to ensure uniform property assessments across Illinois counties. The factor adjusts the county’s overall assessment level so that it reaches the required one-third (33.33%) of market value. The exact multiplier is recalculated each year by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Quick Reference: Your McDonough County Property Records Checklist
The seven most frequent McDonough County property-records workflows are summarized here. Each row points you to the right office and the right portal.
If you want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
Verify ownership | Use the Assessor portal to identify the listed owner. The Recorder's most recent deed is the legal source if there's a mismatch. |
Pull a deed copy | Run a name or document-number search at the County Clerk and Recorder's office. Older records may be on microfilm only. |
Check the tax bill | Use the Treasurer's office. Bills are mailed in May; installments are due June 1 and September 1. |
File a homestead exemption | Submit the homestead application at the Assessor's office. General Homestead is once-and-done in most cases; Senior, Senior Freeze, and Disability exemptions reapply yearly. |
Appeal your assessment | File with the Board of Review within 30 days of the notice. Escalate to PTAB if needed. |
Find tax-sale inventory | Check the Treasurer's published delinquent list ahead of the annual tax sale. |
Record a new document | Check formatting against 55 ILCS 5/3-5018. File MyDec for PTAX-203 simultaneously. Walk-in, mail-in, or e-recording all work. |
Key Contacts and Official Portals
Office | Details |
|---|---|
Supervisor of Assessments | McDonough County Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455 · (309) 837-3122 · portal |
County Clerk and Recorder | 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455 · (309) 833-2474 · In-person access |
County Treasurer | 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455 · (309) 833-2032 · In-person access |
Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board |