“Inaccurate assessments also help drive business to political allies who are property tax attorneys, including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.”

“The corruption from Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan is absolutely disgusting. For years, they have taken money from middle class families and small businesses to help line their own pockets, all the while propping up their political careers. If you want to know why Illinois has serious problems, look no further than Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan and their shameful practices of robbing hard-working Illinoisans to make themselves richer.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

Today, the Chicago Tribune published an in-depth story on how Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios and Illinois House Speak Mike Madigan have been gaming the system for years to make millions of dollars for themselves off property tax assessments and appeals. They’ve created a system that has hurt middle-class taxpayers and small businesses, and it has further solidified Berrios’ and Madigan’s political power.

See key highlights below and read the entire story here.
“Berrios failed at one of his most important responsibilities — estimating the value of commercial and industrial properties. What’s more, a separate analysis reveals commercial and industrial property assessments throughout Cook County were so riddled with errors that they created deep inequities, punishing small businesses while cutting a break to owners of high-value properties and helping fuel a cottage industry of politically powerful tax attorneys.”

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“The repetitive process feeds a property tax appeal industry that provides the bulk of Berrios’ campaign contributions. Inaccurate assessments also help drive business to political allies who are property tax attorneys, including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.”

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“A Berrios ally, Madigan is a founding partner in the six-member firm that has filed appeals on nearly $8.6 billion in assessed value since Berrios took office in December 2010, the most of any firm, according to the appeals analysis. From 2011 to 2016, Madigan & Getzendanner won reductions of 20 percent from the initial values of their clients’ properties, totaling nearly $1.7 billion, the analysis found.”

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