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Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tangled rivalries complicate campaigns for Cook County property tax offices
With slating starting for Democratic Party nominations in next year's elections, the top of the ticket remains uncertain, but the contests to run Cook County's vital property tax offices are already shaping up to be barnburners. Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen Dick Durbin have yet to announce whether they will run for re-election in the 2026 primaries, so many ambitious Illinois Dems are keeping their powder dry for the moment. Down-ticket, hopefuls were already staking their claims at the Cook County Democratic Party's pre-slating meeting Wednesday to vie for three major property tax offices on the ballot in 2026: county assessor and two seats on the county's Board of Review. This year's pre-slating, a gathering of city and suburban Democratic committeemen at the headquarters for IBEW Local 134, is a largely ceremonial opportunity for candidates to tout their credentials. But it also presents the first chance for hopefuls to lay out their lines of attack. Assessor Fritz Kaegi so far faces a four-candidate field in his third bid: a former employee-turned adversary, the nephew of a former assessor, and two candidates connected to one of his fiercest critics. Samantha Steele, who worked for Kaegi in his first term, now seeks to replace him. So does Patrick Hynes, another former employee and the nephew of former county assessor Tom Hynes. Two other people who worked for Larry Rogers, one of Kaegi's loudest detractors, also presented their credentials Wednesday. The party's endorsement, which won't land until later this summer, comes with campaign help — passing petitions, fundraising, and a mass-mailing to prospective voters ahead of the primary in March 2026. Democrats have typically sailed to relatively easy victories in the general election. Kaegi largely self-funded his previous bids for the Democratic nomination. In 2018 he defeated incumbent Assessor Joe Berrios. And in 2022 he beat water reclamation commissioner Kari Steele, who lost despite the backing of many powerful real estate interests. Kaegi loaned himself $500,000 last month. Party Chair and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday asked Kaegi's potential challengers how they would chart a path to victory that could overcome Kaegi's personal wealth. Some said they would seek campaign contributions from property tax attorneys, labor unions or business interests to compete. Assessor candidates sought to flex their property tax expertise while blasting Kaegi's tenure. Several highlighted last summer's Tribune and Illinois Answers investigation into hundreds of properties Kaegi missed, while others criticized his controversial COVID adjustment and general 'unpredictability' in assessments for home and business owners in recent years. Hynes, a longtime employee of the Assessor's Office who is now the assessor for Lyons Township, has been a consistent Kaegi critic since leaving the office in late 2021. During a five minute introduction, Hynes noted he provided information to reporters about many of the problematic properties that undergirded the Tribune and Illinois Answers investigation. He has also helped run a social media account, FritzedAgain, that continues to point out potential assessment errors. 'The current volatility and unpredictability' in the assessment system stresses business and homeowners alike, Hynes said. 'Our commercial investors cannot confidently estimate future property tax costs, which depresses investment, and our residential taxpayers have been subjected to wild swings in assessed values and property tax burdens divorced from the actions of the market.' It was a criticism most Kaegi challengers would repeat. Hynes said he 'has not made a decision' about whether he would accept donations from property tax interests, but 'campaigns cost money… it may be an impossible situation.' Kaegi did not attack any potential challengers at the pre-slating event, and faced only a few questions from fellow Democrats. He ticked off several victories during his tenure, including passage of a bill in Springfield designed to help spur affordable housing, current efforts to allow more seniors to qualify for the county's 'freeze' program, and continued efforts to reduce assessment disparities 'which fall too heavily on our average homeowner.' Kaegi described himself as 'an advocate for the homeowner' and has been pushing for statewide approval of a so-called 'circuit breaker' program to help people pay for large spikes in their property tax bills. Steele faced some more critical, though veiled, questioning, including about a lingering DUI charge dating back to November. Officers arrived at the scene of a crash, where Steele admitted to hitting two cars while driving a Honda that belonged to a friend. According to body camera footage and the police report, officers found an open but corked bottle of wine in the footwell of the front passenger seat. They reported her eyes were 'bloodshot and glassy' and that her breath smelled like alcohol. She repeatedly declined officers' requests, including to take a breathalyzer test, and told them she was an elected official. She eventually went to Weiss hospital after telling officers she hit her head during the crash. Steele kept her drivers license after the arrest because a judge agreed officers improperly filled out some of her arrest paperwork. Her next court date is May 1. Steele acknowledged 'personal challenges' on Wednesday and said she wished 'that no one in this room has to face the public scrutiny' she had, without referring directly to the incident. Still, she argued it 'has nothing to do with the job that I am running for, and nothing to do with the job that I currently hold.' 'I would promise to ensure that industry standards are adhered to,' Steele said, pointing to her 20-year career in the assessment industry. 'I can do this work in my sleep.' In addition to her work in Cook County, Steele separately served as an appointee on the Lake County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals in Indiana from 2020 until stepping down in January. Her exit, the Post-Tribune reported, came at the same time Indiana legislators were moving to require state residency to serve on such boards across the state. She runs a property tax consulting firm called Leonor Group, which she says does not have local clients. Steele did not face direct questions about the case, but was asked by 50th Ward Committeeman Bruce Leon to provide 'more transparency about the situation that occurred… from my perspective, character does matter.' Steele told Leon she didn't know 'how much more transparent' she could be and pivoted to discuss increased assessments in Rogers Park. She told the Tribune in a separate Tuesday interview that a pituitary tumor, which has since been removed, impaired her peripheral vision and 'contributed to' the crash. She acknowledged she had a drink at around 3 pm that day, but noted it was more than five hours before the crash. Two of Steele's colleagues on the board — Dana Pointer and Timnetra Burrus — also introduced themselves to the party on Wednesday. Both have ties to the Board of Review's longest serving commissioner, Larry Rogers, who has been in a protracted political tussle with Kaegi and last year pledged to either run for assessor himself or help fund someone who could beat Kaegi. Pointer has worked as Rogers' outreach director and a senior condominium analyst that has defended property tax cases at the state's Property Tax Appeal Board on the board's behalf. Burrus worked for Rogers' for more than 15 years, according to her LinkedIn, before becoming the chief deputy commissioner — essentially the administrator for the board's 170-person staff. Rogers did not say Tuesday which candidate he planned to support. He and Steele have also frequently butted heads. Steele said she would not run for assessor if the party did not endorse her, and that she would instead run to keep her seat on the Board of Review. Two people are running for Steele's seat: Stephanie Mendoza and Liz Nicholson. Mendoza is Evanston's City Clerk. Nicholson is a longtime political consultant and fundraiser. George Cardenas, another Board of Review Commissioner, is also running for re-election. Others that presented at pre-slating were uncontested and well-known to their fellow Democrats. That list includes county board President Toni Preckwinkle, Sheriff Tom Dart, Treasurer Maria Pappas and Clerk Monica Gordon, who first won her appointment to the seat from the same group about a year ago. Democrats also heard from candidates for spots on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and judicial seats.
Chicago Tribune
16-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Tangled rivalries complicate campaigns for Cook County property tax offices
With slating starting for Democratic Party nominations in next year's elections, the top of the ticket remains uncertain, but the contests to run Cook County's vital property tax offices are already shaping up to be barnburners. Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen Dick Durbin have yet to announce whether they will run for re-election in the 2026 primaries, so many ambitious Illinois Dems are keeping their powder dry for the moment. Down-ticket, hopefuls were already staking their claims at the Cook County Democratic Party's pre-slating meeting Wednesday to vie for three major property tax offices on the ballot in 2026: county assessor and two seats on the county's Board of Review. This year's pre-slating, a gathering of city and suburban Democratic committeemen at the headquarters for IBEW Local 134, is a largely ceremonial opportunity for candidates to tout their credentials. But it also presents the first chance for hopefuls to lay out their lines of attack. Assessor Fritz Kaegi so far faces a four-candidate field in his third bid: a former employee-turned adversary, the nephew of a former assessor, and two candidates connected to one of his fiercest critics. Samantha Steele, who worked for Kaegi in his first term, now seeks to replace him. So does Patrick Hynes, another former employee and the nephew of former county assessor Tom Hynes. Two other people who worked for Larry Rogers, one of Kaegi's loudest detractors, also presented their credentials Wednesday. The party's endorsement, which won't land until later this summer, comes with campaign help — passing petitions, fundraising, and a mass-mailing to prospective voters ahead of the primary in March 2026. Democrats have typically sailed to relatively easy victories in the general election. Kaegi largely self-funded his previous bids for the Democratic nomination. In 2018 he defeated incumbent Assessor Joe Berrios. And in 2022 he beat water reclamation commissioner Kari Steele, who lost despite the backing of many powerful real estate interests. Kaegi loaned himself $500,000 last month. Party Chair and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Wednesday asked Kaegi's potential challengers how they would chart a path to victory that could overcome Kaegi's personal wealth. Some said they would seek campaign contributions from property tax attorneys, labor unions or business interests to compete. Assessor candidates sought to flex their property tax expertise while blasting Kaegi's tenure. Several highlighted last summer's Tribune and Illinois Answers investigation into hundreds of properties Kaegi missed, while others criticized his controversial COVID adjustment and general 'unpredictability' in assessments for home and business owners in recent years. Hynes, a longtime employee of the Assessor's Office who is now the assessor for Lyons Township, has been a consistent Kaegi critic since leaving the office in late 2021. During a five minute introduction, Hynes noted he provided information to reporters about many of the problematic properties that undergirded the Tribune and Illinois Answers investigation. He has also helped run a social media account, FritzedAgain, that continues to point out potential assessment errors. 'The current volatility and unpredictability' in the assessment system stresses business and homeowners alike, Hynes said. 'Our commercial investors cannot confidently estimate future property tax costs, which depresses investment, and our residential taxpayers have been subjected to wild swings in assessed values and property tax burdens divorced from the actions of the market.' It was a criticism most Kaegi challengers would repeat. Hynes said he 'has not made a decision' about whether he would accept donations from property tax interests, but 'campaigns cost money… it may be an impossible situation.' Kaegi did not attack any potential challengers at the pre-slating event, and faced only a few questions from fellow Democrats. He ticked off several victories during his tenure, including passage of a bill in Springfield designed to help spur affordable housing, current efforts to allow more seniors to qualify for the county's 'freeze' program, and continued efforts to reduce assessment disparities 'which fall too heavily on our average homeowner.' Kaegi described himself as 'an advocate for the homeowner' and has been pushing for statewide approval of a so-called 'circuit breaker' program to help people pay for large spikes in their property tax bills. Steele faced some more critical, though veiled, questioning, including about a lingering DUI charge dating back to November. Officers arrived at the scene of a crash, where Steele admitted to hitting two cars while driving a Honda that belonged to a friend. According to body camera footage and the police report, officers found an open but corked bottle of wine in the footwell of the front passenger seat. They reported her eyes were 'bloodshot and glassy' and that her breath smelled like alcohol. She repeatedly declined officers' requests, including to take a breathalyzer test, and told them she was an elected official. She eventually went to Weiss hospital after telling officers she hit her head during the crash. Steele kept her drivers license after the arrest because a judge agreed officers improperly filled out some of her arrest paperwork. Her next court date is May 1. Steele acknowledged 'personal challenges' on Wednesday and said she wished 'that no one in this room has to face the public scrutiny' she had, without referring directly to the incident. Still, she argued it 'has nothing to do with the job that I am running for, and nothing to do with the job that I currently hold.' 'I would promise to ensure that industry standards are adhered to,' Steele said, pointing to her 20-year career in the assessment industry. 'I can do this work in my sleep.' In addition to her work in Cook County, Steele separately served as an appointee on the Lake County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals in Indiana from 2020 until stepping down in January. Her exit, the Post-Tribune reported, came at the same time Indiana legislators were moving to require state residency to serve on such boards across the state. She runs a property tax consulting firm called Leonor Group, which she says does not have local clients. Steele did not face direct questions about the case, but was asked by 50th Ward Committeeman Bruce Leon to provide 'more transparency about the situation that occurred… from my perspective, character does matter.' Steele told Leon she didn't know 'how much more transparent' she could be and pivoted to discuss increased assessments in Rogers Park. She told the Tribune in a separate Tuesday interview that a pituitary tumor, which has since been removed, impaired her peripheral vision and 'contributed to' the crash. She acknowledged she had a drink at around 3 pm that day, but noted it was more than five hours before the crash. Two of Steele's colleagues on the board — Dana Pointer and Timnetra Burrus — also introduced themselves to the party on Wednesday. Both have ties to the Board of Review's longest serving commissioner, Larry Rogers, who has been in a protracted political tussle with Kaegi and last year pledged to either run for assessor himself or help fund someone who could beat Kaegi. Pointer has worked as Rogers' outreach director and a senior condominium analyst that has defended property tax cases at the state's Property Tax Appeal Board on the board's behalf. Burrus worked for Rogers' for more than 15 years, according to her LinkedIn, before becoming the chief deputy commissioner — essentially the administrator for the board's 170-person staff. Rogers did not say Tuesday which candidate he planned to support. He and Steele have also frequently butted heads. Steele said she would not run for assessor if the party did not endorse her, and that she would instead run to keep her seat on the Board of Review. Two people are running for Steele's seat: Stephanie Mendoza and Liz Nicholson. Mendoza is Evanston's City Clerk. Nicholson is a longtime political consultant and fundraiser. George Cardenas, another Board of Review Commissioner, is also running for re-election. Others that presented at pre-slating were uncontested and well-known to their fellow Democrats. That list includes county board President Toni Preckwinkle, Sheriff Tom Dart, Treasurer Maria Pappas and Clerk Monica Gordon, who first won her appointment to the seat from the same group about a year ago. Democrats also heard from candidates for spots on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and judicial seats.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cook County's Democratic incumbents plant flags for 2026 re-election bids
With a year to go until the 2026 primary election, Democratic Cook County officials are marking their territory. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Sheriff Tom Dart, Treasurer Maria Pappas and Assessor Fritz Kaegi have all declared or signaled they plan to run again. Preckwinkle, who turned 78 Monday, announced her re-election bid to once again lead the board in an interview with Politico. Dart is hosting a re-election campaign kickoff and fundraiser next week. Kaegi sunk $500,000 into his campaign coffers earlier this month — filing a 'self-funding' notice for next year's primary — a reminder to any potential challengers of his deep pockets. Pappas didn't release a formal re-election announcement, but simply told the Tribune, 'I'm in.' Pappas, Dart, and Preckwinkle have been in their current roles since 1998, 2006 and 2010, respectively. Many believed Preckwinkle's current term would be her last, an assumption so baked in that preliminary jockeying among current members of the majority-Democratic board to succeed her had kicked off. But allies of Preckwinkle, who also chairs the county's Democratic Party, suggested she still had the energy and interest for another term. In a statement, she echoed another motivator allies have cited: maintaining a steady hand during the Trump presidency. 'With a new administration at the helm in the federal government causing chaos and uncertainty, now is not the time to step aside from this important work. Now is the time to lead the fight to protect all residents of Cook County,' she said in a written statement. Pre-slating, where countywide candidates introduce themselves to members of the party, will be held mid-April. Besides those countywide candidates, all 17 members of the Cook County board are up for re-election, as are judges, water reclamation district commissioners, and two of the members of the county's Board of Review. Petition passing doesn't begin until August 5, giving challengers plenty of time to bolster their bids. Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele is widely rumored to be considering a run for Assessor, but has not yet publicly declared her intentions. If she runs for assessor, she would have to give up her board seat, which is also up in 2026 along with fellow commissioner George Cardenas. So far, Liz Nicholson, a Democratic fundraiser, has filed paperwork to run in Steele's district. Fellow commissioner Larry Rogers, who defeated a Kaegi-backed challenger last year, said he might run to unseat Kaegi next year, or help fund a candidate to challenge him. Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon, who won a special election to replace the late Karen Yarbrough last year, is also expected to run. Though he has not made a formal declaration either, Kaegi has filed paperwork with the state board of elections to run for a third term. In recent months, he has reminded taxpayers of their eligibility for property tax exemptions and pushed 'circuit breaker' reforms in the General Assembly. Those reforms, in theory, would help low-income people pay fast-rising property tax bills, but Kaegi and allies don't have a way to pay for it yet. The $500,000 loan from Kaegi to his campaign brings his self-funding total to $5.6 million since he first ran for office in 2017, according to the Illinois Sunshine database. 'I love this work. I'm running for re-election because there's more work to be done. Making the Assessor's Office fairer is a crucial part of maintaining the public's trust in local government. We need that now more than ever,' Kaegi said in a written statement. In explain her decision to go again, Pappas said she wanted to see through the publication of more 'brilliant' studies from her property tax research team, and talked about her desire to create an artificial intelligence unit. The treasurer is pursuing her own changes to the tax sale process in Springfield. The 75-year-old has also started a side hustle as a model signed with Lily's Talent Agency. 'The only reason I'm successful is I've hired people much smarter than me, but I know how to run it,' Pappas said Monday. 'That's what a good executive does.'
Chicago Tribune
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Cook County's Democratic incumbents plant flags for 2026 re-election bids
With a year to go until the 2026 primary election, Democratic Cook County officials are marking their territory. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Sheriff Tom Dart, Treasurer Maria Pappas and Assessor Fritz Kaegi have all declared or signaled they plan to run again. Preckwinkle, who turned 78 Monday, announced her re-election bid to once again lead the board in an interview with Politico. Dart is hosting a re-election campaign kickoff and fundraiser next week. Kaegi sunk $500,000 into his campaign coffers earlier this month — filing a 'self-funding' notice for next year's primary — a reminder to any potential challengers of his deep pockets. Pappas didn't release a formal re-election announcement, but simply told the Tribune, 'I'm in.' Pappas, Dart, and Preckwinkle have been in their current roles since 1998, 2006 and 2010, respectively. Many believed Preckwinkle's current term would be her last, an assumption so baked in that preliminary jockeying among current members of the majority-Democratic board to succeed her had kicked off. But allies of Preckwinkle, who also chairs the county's Democratic Party, suggested she still had the energy and interest for another term. In a statement, she echoed another motivator allies have cited: maintaining a steady hand during the Trump presidency. 'With a new administration at the helm in the federal government causing chaos and uncertainty, now is not the time to step aside from this important work. Now is the time to lead the fight to protect all residents of Cook County,' she said in a written statement. Pre-slating, where countywide candidates introduce themselves to members of the party, will be held mid-April. Besides those countywide candidates, all 17 members of the Cook County board are up for re-election, as are judges, water reclamation district commissioners, and two of the members of the county's Board of Review. Petition passing doesn't begin until August 5, giving challengers plenty of time to bolster their bids. Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele is widely rumored to be considering a run for Assessor, but has not yet publicly declared her intentions. If she runs for assessor, she would have to give up her board seat, which is also up in 2026 along with fellow commissioner George Cardenas. So far, Liz Nicholson, a Democratic fundraiser, has filed paperwork to run in Steele's district. Fellow commissioner Larry Rogers, who defeated a Kaegi-backed challenger last year, said he might run to unseat Kaegi next year, or help fund a candidate to challenge him. Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon, who won a special election to replace the late Karen Yarbrough last year, is also expected to run. Though he has not made a formal declaration either, Kaegi has filed paperwork with the state board of elections to run for a third term. In recent months, he has reminded taxpayers of their eligibility for property tax exemptions and pushed 'circuit breaker' reforms in the General Assembly. Those reforms, in theory, would help low-income people pay fast-rising property tax bills, but Kaegi and allies don't have a way to pay for it yet. The $500,000 loan from Kaegi to his campaign brings his self-funding total to $5.6 million since he first ran for office in 2017, according to the Illinois Sunshine database. 'I love this work. I'm running for re-election because there's more work to be done. Making the Assessor's Office fairer is a crucial part of maintaining the public's trust in local government. We need that now more than ever,' Kaegi said in a written statement. In explain her decision to go again, Pappas said she wanted to see through the publication of more 'brilliant' studies from her property tax research team, and talked about her desire to create an artificial intelligence unit. The treasurer is pursuing her own changes to the tax sale process in Springfield. The 75-year-old has also started a side hustle as a model signed with Lily's Talent Agency. 'The only reason I'm successful is I've hired people much smarter than me, but I know how to run it,' Pappas said Monday. 'That's what a good executive does.'
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Editorial: Does assessor Fritz Kaegi appreciate the true horrors of downtown Chicago's commercial real estate market?
Chicago is known globally for its striking skyline. But now many of the impressive towers that make up that awe-inspiring cityscape are going for a song. Is the property-value carnage happening regularly downtown registering appropriately with Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi? Case in point: The 57-story tower at 70 W. Madison St. sold earlier this month for $85 million, CoStar News reported. That sounds like a lot, but in 2014 the sellers paid $375 million — more than four times what they just got. Kaegi's office late last year reassessed 70 W. Madison for property-tax purposes. The office came up with a value of $317 million, a 27% increase from the $250 million valuation determined in 2023 by the Cook County Board of Review, which hears property owners' appeals of the assessor's work. What did the market just say the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed tower was worth? $85 million. The Board of Review presumably will take that sale into account when it considers the likely appeal later this year. Granted, this is just one building where the assessment and a fast, subsequent sale are at such sharp odds. But the shocking bath the owners of 70 W. Madison took is hardly an anomaly. The former Groupon headquarters at 600 W. Chicago Ave., a 1.6 million-square-foot structure running along the North Branch of the Chicago River, sold in recent days for $89 million. Just eight years ago, Chicago development firm Sterling Bay paid $510 million for the hulking structure. The primary reason for the lost value? Financially ailing Groupon, which had occupied 300,000 square feet there, decamped about a year ago for a 25,000-square-foot space in the Loop. And a deal is close to sell 311 S. Wacker Drive, a high-end office building adjacent to the Willis Tower that many recognize by its illuminated crown at the top, for around $70 million, according to Crain's Chicago Business. The owners paid $302 million in 2014, and the potential buyers even have discussed razing the tower and building something new in its place. All of the above is context for the news that Kaegi's office has completed its triennial reassessment of Chicago properties and found that, despite robustly higher values for homes in the city over the past three years, values for commercial properties as a group have risen even more. After Kaegi's reassessment, commercial properties would account for 51% of the city's tax base and residential for 49%, the Tribune reported. Currently, Chicago homeowners collectively shoulder 51% of property taxes and commercial 49%. The percentages matter a lot. Even if government property tax levies stay level (which they haven't; take a look at ever-rising levies from Chicago Public Schools, which make up well over a half of Chicago property tax bills), a change in how they're apportioned means significantly higher tax bills for homeowners or commercial property owners. As of now, businesses are set to pay more because governments are due the taxes they demand regardless of who pays what, and businesses' share of the burden will increase by the assessor's accounting. But the assessor's work is far from the last word on the matter. The three-member Board of Review, which will consider what we're sure will be a pile of appeals, has seen fit to dramatically reduce the assessor's commercial property assessments in other parts of Cook County, resulting in shockingly higher property tax bills for many suburban homeowners. Kaegi has harshly criticized the board for the financial pain those homeowners are suffering, in particular singling out for his ire Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr., who represents the South and West sides and the south suburbs. Rogers has responded in kind and told us last year he may run against Kaegi for assessor in 2026. We've spoken positively in the past about Kaegi's efforts to modernize his office after the disastrous tenure of Joe Berrios. And we appreciate that the nepotism and other questionable practices associated with the Berrios years aren't an issue now. But large portions of the business community are irate at what they perceive as Kaegi's exorbitant valuations of their property, which in their view he's doing in order to lighten the load on residents. After all, businesses don't vote; people do. At least on the face of it, there's reason to wonder at the conclusions Kaegi's office has drawn in the wake of what all agree has been a painful post-pandemic hit to commercial values, particularly office. Downtown office buildings make up 20% of Chicago's tax base. The assessor found that the value of Chicago's commercial subcategory comprising office, retail and hotels rose 22% since the last assessment. In the three townships making up the Loop, the increase totaled 21%, according to Crain's. That's head-scratching in light of the parade of historically massive losses downtown office building owners have absorbed in recent transactions. Kaegi's office is categorizing some of the worst blows taken by Chicago office building owners as 'distressed' sales that don't always reflect what the assessor views as true value. Many landlords, we're confident, aren't buying that reasoning. We won't be surprised if Kaegi's numbers change radically after the Board of Review is finished. First-installment property tax bills due this coming spring just were mailed out, but they don't reflect the latest reassessments. The second-installment bills, due in the fall, will account for the changes in Chicago. For homeowners, the results could well be ugly, as we've said before. The bottom line is that this war between the assessor and the Board of Review is serving no one's interests. At the end of the day, the job of those who assess property for tax purposes is to get the calculations as correct as possible in light of what's actually happening in the market. It's not to try to redress the inequities of a municipal tax system that relies far too heavily on landowners. Those fights are for the likes of Mayor Brandon Johnson, Gov. JB Pritzker and an independent Chicago School Board that will take full control of Chicago Public Schools in 2027. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
