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The Berrios way, but without the patronage

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Illinois

* For years, the Chicago Tribune editorial board argued that voters should give Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios the hook. That finally happened a few years ago and many of the same upper-income people who backed Berrios’ opponent Fritz Kaegi are now upset at Kaegi for matching their property tax assessments to reality. The Tribune editorial board sums up the issues today…

During Berrios’ eight-year reign, ethics rules went ignored. Patronage and nepotism became the norm. Deep-pocketed insiders knew they could secure assessment reductions through well-timed campaign donations to his office. Finally, in 2018, voters indicated they had seen enough, and embraced Kaegi’s pledge to reform the county’s broken tax assessment system.

And so far, that’s exactly what Kaegi has set out to do. His reforms include basing assessments on the most accurate market value of properties — commercial and residential. What business community lobbyists conveniently forget is that, under Berrios, commercial and industrial properties were undervalued by nearly 40% in Cook County, and almost 50% in Chicago. Billions of dollars of tax burden was shifted from moneyed communities to low-income and minority neighborhoods.

* OK, now scroll down…

And [business lobbyists] should push [state legislators] to get rid of Cook County’s tax classification system that assesses commercial and industrial properties at a higher rate than homeowners — a 2.5 to 1 difference.

Possible translation: We didn’t like it when Joe Berrios shifted billions of dollars of the property tax burden to low-income and minority communities. We’d prefer it, however, if the General Assembly would give business owners a gigantic property tax cut and force low income and minority residents to pay lots more because then it would be all nice and legal.

Maybe I’m missing something here, or maybe they just don’t quite understand what they wrote. But I don’t see how that comes out any other way in the end.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 9:34 am

Comments

They’re saying the system is flawed, but the Berrios way of addressing the flaws was corrupt because he just ignored the law for his friends.

Comment by Just Me 2 Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 9:42 am
These under the table shenanigans are terrible. They should be done right on top of the table. /s

Comment by Ron Burgundy Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 9:50 am
It’s the GOP’s main theme: end corruption, just give the money and goodies to the rich. The Tribsters are just echoing it.

Comment by Keyrock Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 9:55 am
They don’t want machine politics corruption. They want the respectable kind of regulatory capture.

Comment by ChicagoVinny Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 9:56 am
We need another property tax reform task force to get to the bottom of this problem

Comment by Lucky Pierre Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 9:58 am
It seems that not understanding what they wrote is a feature of the Trib editorial board.

Comment by JoanP Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 10:03 am
===It seems that not understanding what they wrote is a feature of the Trib editorial board.===

Along with historical amnesia.

Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 10:06 am
In partial defense of the Tribune, I don’t think they’re calling for a full restoration of the Berrios rates - e.g., “It’s true, Kaegi’s remedies have been inflicting real pain on businesses. And there’s a balance that needs to be struck.” The problem is that their solution doesn’t seem to have any such balance. If they were only looking to curb the commercial building tax burden, given that the only options to replace the revenue of changing the classification system would fall on the poor and the middle class, you get the impression they didn’t do the math.

And kidding aside, yes, it’s much better when the shenanigans are on top of the table - because then they cease to be shenanigans. The Dems would never do such a thing in the open, they were all too happy to with Berrios/Madigan.

Comment by lake county democrat Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 10:13 am
I don’t envy Kaigi’s job, but it doesn’t help that assessment are going up for more modest property owners too.

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 10:26 am
Give him credit. A system that has been manipulated by powerful Chicago property tax lawyers to the detriment of the lower income community is badly in need of reform–but at least he’s correcting or attempting to correct past wrongs. Berrios/Madigan and the whole gang who got their buddies, on both sides of the world, huge tax breaks while the poor folks ate cake. The lasting legacy of ward boss type politics.

Comment by Numbers matter Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 10:43 am
Why is it the job of the General Assembly to change the business property tax rate? Isn’t that the job of Cook County and/or Chicago? Oh I get it, change the rate but let the GA take the heat.

Comment by Nearly Normal Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 10:43 am
Nearly Normal, the fact that a classification system exists in Cook County and no where else in the state is a creation of the GA. Any change requires their action. Not arguing for or against it - just pointing out where it comes from.

Comment by Lt Guv Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 10:57 am
I’ve always wondered why it was that after Berrios’ substantial fines levied by the Board of Elections, were upheld several times by the Appellate Court, SA Foxx settled the fines for 50k. Trib never seemed upset by that.

Comment by Miso Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 11:01 am
@Nearly Normal

===Why is it the job of the General Assembly to change the business property tax rate? Isn’t that the job of Cook County and/or Chicago? Oh I get it, change the rate but let the GA take the heat.===

The editorial is not talking about the tax rate which is a product of assessed value and levy’s. They are talking about classification or level of value assessed. In Cook County business and industrial properties are assessed at a higher level than residential properties. In the rest of the state all properties are assessed at the same level.

Comment by Nagidam Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 11:04 am
Kaegi campaigned on the belief commercial was under-taxed at the expense of residential. Then the pandemic hit and walloped commercial while COVID will have a lingering effect on office space assessments for years to come. So commercial is not going to be panacea once thought.

So then who pays more in this zero sum game? I can’t imagine the middle and upper-middle class suburbs are going to like paying even more, but that’s probably where it’s heading.

Comment by nixit Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 11:10 am
Thanks for the info regards the different tax rates and how they came into being. Appreciate knowing that.

Comment by Nearly Normal Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 11:24 am
What a lazy and nonsensical editorial. Not only does the Trib Ed Board lack a complete understanding of the assessment process but they aren’t even doing the responsible prodding to ask what progress has been made in the last three years? It’s November 15th and Assessor Kaegi has yet to issue a single decision for 2021. (Tax bills will undoubtedly go out late next year). Developers are fleeing from Cook because Kaegi has done the exact opposite of his campaign promise and made the property tax system more chaotic and confusing. (See Jack Lavin’s recent op ed in Crain’s). Finally, Kaegi consistently breaks state law by not responding to FOIA requests within the statutorily allowed time period, or, not at all.

This is just lazy.

Comment by Boone's is Back Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 11:43 am
Chicago and Cook County residential property tax valuations are low already compared to all other counties in Illinois. They should be equalized with the rest of the state.

Comment by DuPage Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 12:49 pm
I wonder whether all the non-profit property ought to have some assessed value besides zero.

I get that a non-profit hospital or non-profit university should pay less in property taxes than a strip mall or factory or office building. But zero?

Seems not quite right.

Comment by Dan Johnson Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 2:31 pm
Elitists just gotta elitist, or something like that.

Comment by VerySmallRocks Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 3:57 pm
Point of historical information

Constitutional authorization for Cook County’s de facto real estate classification system was one of the conditions demanded by Cook County Democratic chieftain Mayor Ricard J. Daley to gain his support for the new constitution being written by the Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention in 1970. Delegates, among them former House Speaker Michael J. Madigan concurred. The new charter with classification and home rule, another Daley demand, was ratified in December, 1970, by a roughly 284,000 vote margin statewide, thanks in no small part to Cook County, whose voters approved of the new charter by a 426,000-vote margin.

Respectfully,

Charlie Wheeler

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 4:26 pm
Trib seems about right. According to CMAP, “In many communities, high commercial and industrial tax rates present a barrier to attracting development, even when infrastructure and infill opportunities are plentiful. By reforming its classification system, Cook County could grow the tax base over time and reduce the tax burden on residents, mitigating potential increased residential rates.”

Comment by Ben Tre Monday, Nov 15, 21 @ 4:33 pm