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 Gov. Bruce Rauner announced at a Jan. 18 press conference that
he plans to have a bill introduced banning lawmakers from making money as
property tax appeals lawyers, according to WTTW’s Amanda Vinicky.
House Speaker Mike Madigan has earned millions of dollars appealing the assessed
values of some of the most expensive properties in the state through his law
firm, Madigan & Getzendanner. Every dollar Madigan earns back for his corporate
clients makes someone else’s property tax bill go up. It falls on the shoulders
of Cook County residents not savvy enough to hire a politically connected law
firm to appeal their property taxes, or who refuse to play the game altogether.
The governor also announced plans to sign an executive order barring the state’s
Property Tax Appeal Board from hearing cases brought by lawmakers working as
property tax lawyers.
“Why do we let legislators argue cases around property taxes when they set tax
policy?” Rauner asked at the press conference, according to WTAX. “It’s
unethical, clearly unethical.”
Illinoisans pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation, and saw their
property tax bills grow six times faster than household incomes from 2008-2015.
Madigan’s millions
A joint investigation released Dec. 7 by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica
Illinois revealed the extent to which Madigan & Getzendanner dominates the
property tax appeals business. That domination comes within a Cook County
property tax system found to disproportionately harm lower-income residents, due
in part to the appeals process.
From 2011 to 2016, Madigan’s firm appealed property taxes for more than 4,200
parcels totaling more than $8.6 billion in assessed value. No other firm handled
more value in commercial and industrial properties over that time.
On those parcels, Madigan & Getzendanner won $1.7 billion in assessed value
reductions from the Cook County assessor, a 20 percent reduction overall.
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Madigan spokesman Steve
Brown disputed the appeals analysis, saying Madigan’s firm won a
mere $1 billion in assessed value reductions, but did not provide
any supporting data, according to the Tribune. No. 4 on the list is
Klafter & Burke, the property tax appeals law firm founded by
Chicago Alderman Ed Burke. Burke has served as a Chicago alderman
since 1969, and is the longtime chair of the City Council’s finance
committee.
But it’s not just Madigan and Burke.
Cottage industry
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton is a partner at Thompson
Coburn LLP, where his brother Patrick Cullerton works as a property
tax appeals lawyer. Patrick’s biography on the firm’s website notes
his work “to convince the Illinois General Assembly to reform the
tax appeal provisions of the Illinois Property Tax Code.”
State Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, also works as a property tax
appeals attorney for Finkel, Martwick & Colson. In July 2017, a
Chicago Sun-Times investigation found Martwick failed to disclose
$170,000 in income from his political consulting business, where he
worked for clients such as Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios.
Berrios’ office is in charge of the property valuations so crucial
to these political figures. He was elected assessor in 2010 with the
help of Madigan’s political workers. Berrios also serves as the Cook
County Democratic Party chairman. Meanwhile, Madigan is the state
party chairman. He is the only legislative leader in the nation to
serve in such a position, according to the Illinois Campaign for
Political Reform.
It remains to be seen if Rauner’s proposed reforms can survive
political or legal challenges posed by Madigan, Cullerton and
others.
What’s beyond doubt: Lawmakers working to profit off of a property
tax appeals system they control – as evidenced by the advocacy of
the Senate president’s brother – has eroded trust in Illinois’ state
and local governments for decades.
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