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* See if you can spot the news item announced by JB Pritzker during the weekend gubernatorial forum…
Mary Ann: Do you believe it’s appropriate to disconnect the plumbing from what many people would consider a mansion, to receive a $230,000 tax break?
JB: Thank you for asking that question. Here is the truth of that. And that is, that we began a renovation project on a home, and we decided to stop that project, and at some point in the future after that, like 50,000 other people in Cook County every single day–like Chris Kennedy, like Gov. Rauner and others–asked for a reassessment of the property’s value. Not because of that, but just that it was a point in which, as you know, we have a very unfair assessment process. We need, and I’ve discovered how flawed it really is. That in fact is why we need to get rid of that system, make sure that we’ve got a formula that really works for assessing properties, and make sure that people are paying their fair share for their properties. That’s what happened in that situation.
Mary Ann: If there need to be a change in the assessment, does that also mean a change of the assessor? Where do you stand on Mr. Berrios?
JB: Yeah, well things have not been going that well recently, let’s all face it. And across the state, this is not just an issue in Cook County by the way. All across the state, we have got the problem of in poor communities, they are paying the very highest rates, the very highest rates, that is very unfair. I am in favor of more progressive taxes, less regressive taxes, and unfortunately, our property tax system is quite regressive in this state.
Mary Ann: So Mr. Kennedy, he brought your name up. You have received a tax break at Wolf Point, and you have apparently also received a tax break on your home, where do you stand?
Chris: Well what Mr. Pritzker did and what everybody else who has ever appealed taxes did, are two radically different things. We appealed our taxes, he had his house reclassified as uninhabitable. That’s a different thing. I’ve never even heard of it. I’ve been in real estate 30 years in Chicago, I never knew you could do that thing. [Laughter] I’m serious, that’s like a whole other game.
Mary Ann: But you also did receive a tax break…
Chris: Let me just finish. He did that, then he says he’s in the house next door and he appeals that tax, and he says “Look, I’m living next to an uninhabitable home.” [Laughter] Don’t put me in that bucket, I never did either of those things. [Applause]
I have the courage to stand here and tell you that Joe Berrios’ system is a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and he should be taken out of office. [Applause]
JB: I need to respond to that, I’m sorry. I must say that millions of dollars of tax breaks at Wolf Point taken by Mr. Kennedy do qualify in fact as tax breaks. And to be clear, our property, by the way, is no longer on that roll. It was a temporary situation that we in fact were doing renovations to stop that, and are beginning to do those renovations again.
Mary Ann: But you do support Mr. Berrios?
JB: No, what I’m suggesting is I’m running for governor and I believe the people of Cook County ought to make the decision about who the assessor is of Cook County. I must say though things are not going well in terms of assessment of properties and people who are poor are paying the highest taxes.
Mary Ann: And Mr. Kennedy, could you clarify, you did receive a tax break at Wolf Point
Chris: That’s not true. When Wolf Point was a parking lot, it was assessed as a parking lot. When Wolf Point was a development site, it was assessed as a development site. When Wolf Point was an apartment building, it was assessed as an apartment building. All of those assessments were within the range of their peers. There’s no evidence that I got a break outside of what everyone else got. There’s no evidence that the taxes paid there were different than any other taxes paid by a similar building, development or lot anywhere else in the city. It’s just not true.
Did you spot it? He’s apparently no longer claiming that his next door mansion is uninhabitable.
But, man, did Kennedy ever whack him hard.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From an oppo report…
Pritzker Still Claiming “Uninhabitable” Tax Break On $2.5 Million Mansion
At The October 8 Democratic Candidate Forum, JB Pritzker Told The Audience That He Is No Longer Claiming That His Second Mansion At 1431 N. Astor Street In Chicago Is Uninhabitable In Order To Claim A Massive Property Tax Break: PRITZKER: “To be clear, our property, by the way, is no longer on that roll. It was a temporary situation that we, in fact, were doing renovations. We stopped that, and are beginning to do those renovations again.” (Our Revolution Illinois Candidate Forum, 10/8/17, 55:18)
Pritzker’s Lawyers Applied To Have The Mansion Declared Uninhabitable Again This Year
According To The Cook County Assessor’s Database, Pritzker’s Lawyers Applied For And Received A Vacancy Reduction For The 2016 Tax Year On Pritzker’s 1431 N Astor Street Mansion. (Cook County Assessor, Accessed 10/9/17)… Pritzker’s 2016 Valuation Is Identical To The One That He Initially Received For The 2015 Tax Year. (Cook County Assessor, Accessed 10/9/17)
*** UPDATE 2 *** Pritzker campaign…
Both of these reductions were already public knowledge. JB was referencing the status for the current year. Opposition research generally works better when the facts are correct.
* Video…
* Pritzker, by the way, shot back at Sen. Daniel Biss for the latter’s repeated references to the former’s wealth…
Thank you for referring to me once again as wealthy. I want to be clear about something and that’s that no one here on stage wears any kind of halo. And Daniel, while I appreciate you calling that out, you’ve accepted PAC money, you’ve accepted money from special interests, you’ve accepted money from banking [Applause]. And I want to be clear though that I do not believe that they’re buying you in any way whatsoever. I believe that they believe in you and that’s why they wrote checks. I’m standing up here telling you exactly what it is that I believe in. The one thing you will know about me is that if you elect me, everything that I have told that I will do is exactly what I will do. There’s nobody calling me in the middle of the night telling me I can’t do it. There’s no special interests that will have funded me who will call me in the middle of the night and say ‘I’m sorry we’re not funding you for the next election.’
* And Kennedy kinda mansplained Mary Ann Ahern…
Mary Ann: Mr. Kennedy where are you on the LaSalle street tax?
Kennedy: Well I’d point out that most of the trading is done on Wacker Drive and not LaSalle Street. Let’s just start there.
Mary Ann: Wherever it’s done, should we have a tax?
Kennedy: Well it matters if you are going to regulate it, you oughta know what you’re talking about. [Audible gasps from crowd]
Mary Ann: We’ll let Mr. Pritzker respond to that then.
Kennedy: I would say this. You know, I’d like to promise everybody rainbows and swing sets in their back yard and they’re not going to have to pay for any of it. The idea that we’re going to go after LaSalle Street and somehow tax all of them, is just a fallacy. They’ll move that money around faster than we can regulate it. Fact is you could order from Amazon Prime they know, they know the router in your apartment or your office, they know your address, and then they’re delivering it to your address. If you live in Cook County you don’t have to pay Cook County taxes. We can’t friggin’ find a way to tax Amazon we’re never going to tax the mercantile board.
So, he corrects the moderator about LaSalle Street and then uses the exact same LaSalle Street name in his own response.
* Also, Greg Hinz looked into the Amazon tax angle…
I got some clarification on how much sales tax Amazon is supposed to collect in Cook County, which was the example Kennedy cited. It’s complicated.
The company clearly is supposed to collect the 6.25 percent state sales tax everywhere in Illinois. But local sales taxes are different. If the product involved in a transaction was stored in a warehouse in Cook County and shipped to a county resident, the tax is supposed to be collected. But if it was shipped from out of state, no. If it was stored in Kankakee, a Cook County resident would not have to pay, but some in Kankakee would.
That’s the word from Laurence Msall over at the Civic Federation.
So, bottom line: It looks like Kennedy is partially right, in some cases. But misleading, at least as he phrased it.
* Video…
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:29 am
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Sounds like JB said there ain’t room for another JB in office.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:37 am
“So, he corrects the moderator about LaSalle Street and then uses the exact same LaSalle Street name in his own response.”
He’s quoting them in his response. Am I missing something?
Comment by Name/Nickname/Anon Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:40 am
J.B. Pritzker is a Cook County resident and voter. Will he be voting to reelect Joe Berrios in either the Primary or the General? That seems like a reasonable question to ask.
Comment by Saputo's Back Room Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:40 am
Low point of the afternoon was Paterakis going after one if Rauner’s sons.
Frankly Paterakis & Daiber should not have been allowed on that stage or at any other event. If you don’t have a running mate at this point you should not be considered a candidate.
Comment by Fax Machine Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:42 am
What did Paterakis say about Rauner’s son?
Comment by Lee County Leon Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:46 am
My mind was firmed up in this forum. Kennedy was prepared and had his thumb on the issues.
Pritzker was evasive & was called out for specifically not answering the question on his Madigan relationship.
Pritzker will need to keep pouring millions in himself if this keeps up.
Comment by Lake County Voter Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:46 am
—I have the courage to stand here and tell you that Joe Berrios’ system is a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and he should be taken out of office. [Applause] —
Note the applause. JB’s Dem party backing may not be worth as much as it usually is (which, in a primary, is an lot).
Comment by lake county democrat Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:47 am
Good for Kennedy. A “LaSalle” street tax or whatever they want to call it, is a stupid idea.
Comment by Ron Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:50 am
===Note the applause.===
Note the forum.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:51 am
“our property tax system is quite regressive in this state.”
Not really. My property taxes are high (both % and $) because the state does not fund my local school districts as much as other school districts because they are deemed more “wealthy” than others. My town also has a higher median income than the state average, meaning more of our state income tax dollars leave our local school districts to fund other districts, hence higher property taxes. That’s not regressive.
Comment by City Zen Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:51 am
Oy. JB’s crew needs to teach him how to speak in an off script situation. This is an implosion. He’s making Kennedy look like Cyrano here.
Comment by A guy Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:53 am
City Zen…
I would suggest you look here on page 9…
http://cookcountyclerk.com/tsd/DocumentLibrary/2016%20Tax%20Rate%20Report.pdf
Largest Composite Rate:
Village of Ford Heights, SD #169 38.591 37.976 1.62%
Village of Park Forest, SD #163 35.872 36.834 -2.61%
City of Chicago Heights, SD #169 34.182 33.726 1.35%
None of these would be considered wealthy.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 11:57 am
The only forums Joe Berrios is going to be a plus for Pritzker are meetings of the Cook County Democratic Party and a party for the clients of Madigan & Getzendanner.
Comment by lake county democrat Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 12:02 pm
Chris Kennedy had more than one incident with Mary Ann at the debate. He corrected her, talked down to her, and even yelled at her. It was pretty absurd.
Comment by JoeMaddon Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 12:07 pm
I think JB is so used to lawyers and accountants and investment gurus and minders and PR people making decisions and managing his family businesses and wealth that he really may not have a handle on what is going on or what actions have been done on his behalf over the years that regular people don’t benefit from. This is not to excuse it but may help explain why he often seems so disconnected from the average citizen. This forum was just a disaster for him.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 12:11 pm
This year is 2017, not 2016. Property taxes are in arrears. You sure about that update?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 12:12 pm
So questions on a LaSalle St tax, but no questions regarding taxing retirement income. Was CTU screening these questions?
Comment by City Zen Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 12:24 pm
Yeesh… Pritzker’s best team that money can buy can’t even prepare him for what he knows are going to be the two central GOP attacks, Madigan and property taxes?
Comment by WizzardOfOzzie Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 12:25 pm
“This year is 2017, not 2016. Property taxes are in arrears. You sure about that update?”
————–
2016 assessments, payable 2017 real estate taxes.
2017 assessments, payable 2018 real estate taxes.
The 2018 real estate taxes are not yet established. So, 2016, pay 2017 is most current established information.
Looks to me like JB doesn’t know what his lawyers are doing on his behalf. One would think that by now, JB would realize that this whole property tax area is becoming an issue that keeps coming around to hit him.
Comment by Anon Downstate Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 12:49 pm
If Pritzker really did apply to reclassify his neighboring mansion as “habitable,” his campaign should release whatever documentation Pritzker’s attorneys transmitted to the Cook County Assessor on the matter. That’s how this gets put to rest, but it’s still up in the air.
Comment by Saputo's Back Room Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:00 pm
===This year is 2017, not 2016. Property taxes are in arrears. You sure about that update?===
Yes, he is sure about that update. 2017 values have already been issued for 75% of all Cook County properties (JB’s mansion included).
Comment by Sox Fan Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:07 pm
===If Pritzker really did apply to reclassify his neighboring mansion as “habitable,” his campaign should release whatever documentation Pritzker’s attorneys transmitted to the Cook County Assessor on the matter. That’s how this gets put to rest, but it’s still up in the air.===
There would be no documentation to provide. Vacancy documentation needs to be submitted annually. If the property is “habitable”, he would simply not file an appeal.
Comment by Sox Fan Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:08 pm
He is now a member of the Democratic “Potty”
Comment by A guy Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:09 pm
= Chris Kennedy had more than one incident with Mary Ann at the debate. He corrected her, talked down to her, and even yelled at her. It was pretty absurd. =
Translation:
JB was awful.
I can tell you there’s a lot of downstate folks on the Kennedy train. As a Republican in not there yet but Pritzker won’t beat Bruce Rauner and this forum is proof. If Dems want the governors mansion they’d support Kennedy.
Comment by Shelby County Steve Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:22 pm
After judging Pritzker’s preformence at the forum and his front runner status, I have reason to be concerned.
A Pritzker win in March would be a gift to Rauner.
Comment by Red fish blue fish Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:30 pm
Pritzker was awful but Kennedy is so obviously out of his depth. His cure for everything is his unconstitutional proposal to bar property tax lawyers from serving in the state legislature. He’s testy and seemed to lose his temper on more than one occasion, which I’ve seen from him before in town halls as well. He’s not qualified for the job and it shows - he doesn’t have a sophisticated grasp on policy.
Like Pritzker and his money, the only reason Kennedy’s on that stage is because of his name. Embarrassing.
Comment by Teddy Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:34 pm
Teddy, as a Pritzker-bot, do you think it’s useful to post the same thing 10 different ways in one thread? Take a deep breath please.
Comment by WizzardOfOzzie Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:56 pm
Who dresses a billionaire these days. JB’s suit appears to be from the Refrigerator Perry collection.
Comment by Downstate Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 1:58 pm
AA is looking for Kennedy’s next move to be challenging JB to an IQ test challenge.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 2:00 pm
Was feeling vaguely ok about Pritzker before yesterday; after seeing his responses, I have very serious concerns about his front-runner status.
Comment by WSJ Paywall Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 2:10 pm
**= Chris Kennedy had more than one incident with Mary Ann at the debate. He corrected her, talked down to her, and even yelled at her. It was pretty absurd. =
Translation:
JB was awful.**
Oh, let me be very clear. JB was not good, at all, on Sunday. But neither was Chris.
Comment by JoeMaddon Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 2:29 pm
I don’t agree about JB. I was there and, despite it being a hostile forum for him, I think he was really quite good other than the Madigan and property tax questions (which were bad). He needs to nail those.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 2:50 pm
==I think he was really quite good other than the Madigan and property tax questions (which were bad). He needs to nail those.===
Aside from that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
Comment by A guy Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 3:41 pm
Pritzker certainly needs to work on his responses. However, I don’t think he wants to bad mouth people he knows he’d have to work with to get things done for our state. I’ve seen this episode before - Rauner did himself no favors by alienating the majority leaders in each chamber before the show even started.
Comment by The Muse Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 3:46 pm
Did anyone mention that this very informative forum was put on by Clem Balanoff’s group, Our Revolution?
Comment by Johnny Justice Tuesday, Oct 10, 17 @ 10:17 pm
JB was downright Trumpian. “I’m rich so I will be accountable to no one” isn’t a great message, imo.
(And Trumpian again later, too, when he said that his Blagojevich call doesn’t count because it was a leak.)
Comment by CatAttack Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 9:47 am