* You really gotta hand it to this guy. He just doesn’t care about how he looks to the populace…

With less than three weeks until election day, Democratic Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios went to court in an effort to keep the spigot flowing on campaign contributions from property tax appeal lawyers whose livelihoods can depend on the decisions his office makes.

On Wednesday, Berrios’ lawyers asked Circuit Court Judge Sanjay Tailor to void county ethics rules that place limits on campaign contributions to elected officials and candidates from those who seek “official action” from the county. Berrios’ team argued the county rules violate the state constitution because only the Illinois legislature has authority to set campaign contribution limits.

The county, however, maintained that it has the power to set its own, more-restrictive limits on campaign cash to avoid quid pro quo politics.

While the optics of the situation won’t exactly win the old-school Berrios praise from good government groups, a look at where Berrios’ campaign cash is coming from shows that property appeals lawyers remain a vital source of contributions. Since October, Berrios has collected more than $276,000 from those attorneys — about four-fifths of what he’s received in individual contributions during that time.

* Meanwhile…

Our Revolution Illinois/Chicago, candidates call on Commissioners to act immediately to Reduce Homeowners Property Taxes

WHO: Our Revolution Illinois/Chicago, along with Fritz Kaegi and other Our Revolution Illinois endorsed candidates, will hold a press conference Thursday at 11am, prior to the Finance Committee meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

WHAT: Commissioners are summoning Berrios to testify before the Finance Committee on the heels of a scathing report by the Civic Consulting Alliance—commissioned by Berrios himself—showing deep inequity in the way he values residential properties in Cook County. Further, Crain’s Chicago Business reported that the 50 highest priced commercial property sales in Cook County, whose total value is $17.1 billion, were only valued at $7.8 billion—46% of their actual value.

Our Revolution Illinois will offer specifics ways the Cook County Board can act immediately to start to correct some of the inequities and provide much needed property tax relief for homeowners.

…Adding… Rauner campaign…

As Berrios Takes Advantage of Middle Class Illinoisans, Pritzker Stays Silent

On Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported that Cook County Commissioner and close Madigan ally Joe Berrios is going to court to fight limits on campaign contributions from “those who seek ‘official action’ from the county.” Berrios’ actions are clearly a conflict of interest, and yet another example of how corrupt and broken the property tax system is in Cook County: he receives help getting elected from Madigan, and in return, Madigan receives favorable reductions in value for clients of his tax reassessment firm.

From the Tribune:

The practice also was highlighted in “The Tax Divide,” a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois series that concluded Berrios’ assessment practices favored the wealthy at the expense of the poor. Tax appeals, which have flourished under Berrios, only make the system less fair, the series concluded and a recent independent study commissioned by county officials confirmed.

In addition, how Berrios’ case plays out — and is perceived by the public — also could have implications well beyond the down-ballot campaign for assessor. Some of the state’s most powerful politicians, including House Speaker Michael Madigan and 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke, are lawyers whose firms make money handling property tax appeals. Berrios, chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, is a key Madigan ally.

Pritzker, who has personally benefitted from property tax breaks from Berrios’ office, continues to be unwilling to stand up to entrenched political interests, to the detriment of hardworking Illinois families