Cook County Property Tax System Operates With Unparalleled Independence

As recent reporting from ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune has brought more focus on Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios, a number of groups, including ICPR, have called for increased oversight of the Cook County Assessor’s Office. In the majority of the nation’s ten most populated counties, assessors are subject to oversight from the state that is lacking in Illinois.

These counties have elected assessors, similar to Cook County, but the actions of these assessors are reviewed by non-political professionals of a state agency. The goal of these oversight processes is to ensure that assessment practices are legal and uniform across the state.

California contains five of the ten largest counties in the US, including the largest – Los Angeles County. In California, the Board of Equalization conducts on-site reviews of county assessors every five years. These reviews allow the California Board to audit the assessor’s practices and provide recommendations for improvement. The Board also appraises a sample of properties from five counties each year based on the counties’ sizes and past audit results.

The Department of Revenue in Florida and Arizona, home to Miami-Dade and Maricopa Counties, also plays an important role in providing oversight to their assessors. Both states conduct equity studies considered standard by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) to ensure that assessments are equitable and fair for taxpayers. State laws in Florida and Arizona also allow those departments to require assessors to improve assessment practices if they are found to be significantly flawed.

If taxpayers in Cook County believe their tax assessments are unfair or improper, their first available recourse is through the County Assessor’s own appeals process.

If after review by the Assessor’s Office, taxpayers are still unsatisfied, they may appeal to the Cook County Board of Review, a committee of three officials elected to hear tax assessment appeals. The Board of Review rules only on individual appeals cases, and is not responsible for oversight of the general activities of the Assessor’s Office.

On the Cook County Board of Review, Commissioners’ jobs are relatively safe due to a lack of electoral competition. Commissioners Larry Rogers, Jr. and Michael Cabonargi are both up for reelection in 2018, and are uncontested as of this writing. Since 2010, there have been only five contested Primary or General Elections for a seat on the Cook County Board of Review. All five challenges (two Primary, three General) were against the Board’s only Republican, Dan Patlak.

The unique structure and political power of Cook County’s property tax assessment system strengthens recent calls for reform. Out of the ten most populated counties in the nation, the Cook County Assessor is uniquely independent and unchecked by any oversight process. As a result, Cook County voters hold most of the responsibility to check the property tax system through elections for the Assessor’s Office and the County Board of Review.

While the Illinois statute defining their powers is somewhat vague, the Department of Revenue may have the authority to initiate critical oversight measures for the assessment process. ICPR recommends that these steps are taken by the DOR:

• Conduct COD (Coefficient of Dispersion) studies on assessments, used to measure equity and uniformity, and publish summary reports for each tax cycle
• Perform audits of county assessment procedures every three years, and publish reports of recommended changes
• Take a more proactive role in requiring assessors to produce evidence of internal controls and fair assessment practices when reviewing tax rolls

The goal of these recommendations is to ensure a more transparent and accountable assessment process across the state, and encourage oversight for this important responsibility.