|
COOK
COUNTY ASSESSOR CANDIDATE CALLS FOR BAN ON ALDERMEN SERVING AS PROPERTY
TAX ATTORNEYS
Illinois Policy Institute/
Vincent Caruso
The Democratic nominee in the Cook County
assessor’s race is voicing support for a ban on city aldermen doubling
as property tax appeals attorneys, an arrangement that encourages
conflicts of interest.
|
|
 The latest call for a ban on city lawmakers from moonlighting
as property tax attorneys came from likely Cook County assessor to-be, Fritz
Kaegi.
In a statement issued Aug. 23, the Democratic nominee for assessor endorsed
Chicago mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot’s proposal to bar local elected
officials from doubling as “land-use, zoning or real estate attorneys,” in
addition to collecting their six-figure annual aldermanic salary.
In March, Kaegi defeated incumbent Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios in the
Democratic primary of the assessor’s race. Berrios’ office came under fire in
2017 when a study released by the Chicago Tribune found the county’s assessment
process disproportionately harms low-income homeowners. The study found that
while the county assessor’s office commonly undervalues commercial properties in
wealthier areas, properties in disadvantaged areas are frequently overvalued. A
February report commissioned by Berrios and Cook County Board President Toni
Preckwinkle confirmed those findings.
 Cook County’s opaque and complex property tax system has created a lucrative
business for individuals and firms that handle property tax appeals, including
Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, 14th Ward. Burke’s firm handled property tax appeals for
Trump Tower for years, saving the building’s owners more than $14 million in
appealing valuations made by the Cook County Assessor’s Office. In January,
Burke sidelined an effort led by some Chicago City Council members to revisit
the assessed property values of seven commercial buildings in the Loop, two of
which are represented by Burke’s firm.
[to top of second column] |
Other local officials whose private interests
appear to conflict with their aldermanic authority include Mayor
Rahm Emanuel’s floor leader, Ald. Patrick O’Connor, 40th Ward, and
former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson,
11th Ward. Both O’Connor and Thompson hold careers in land-use law
while exercising influence over city zoning rules from their seats
in City Council.
But the practice is not limited to members of City
Council. For example, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s law firm
won $1.7 billion in assessed value reductions from the Cook County
assessor between 2011 and 2016, a December 2017 investigation by the
Chicago Tribune found. In fact, the report found Madigan to be the
biggest player in commercial property tax appeals.
In a state shouldering among the highest property taxes in the
nation, taxpayers might question the legitimacy of a system that
allows lawmakers to influence property tax policy while profiting as
attorneys who appeal those property taxes.
Fortunately, there are a pair of bills in the General Assembly –
House Bill 4435 and Senate Bill 2495 – that would provide such
restrictions. Both bills, introduced by state Rep. Grant Wehrli,
R-Naperville, and state Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove,
respectively, would provide that “no legislator may accept or
participate in any way in any representation case” before any unit
of government on matters involving “a challenge to any tax or
proposed assessment of any tax or fee.”
Taxpayers should pressure state lawmakers to advance these
commonsense proposals. Illinoisans can sign Illinois Policy’s
petition here to voice their support for a statewide ban on
lawmakers acting as property tax appeal lawyers.
Click here to respond to the editor about this article |
