Larry Rogers: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: ChicagoWebsite: http://larryrogersjr.comOffice sought: Cook Board of Review 3rd DistrictAge: 43Family: Married, 4 childrenOccupation: Attorney and Commissioner, Cook County Board of ReviewEducation: J.D., IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1993 B.S., Managerial Agricultural Economics, University of California, Davis, 1990Civic involvement: Unicef, Midwest Board of Directors American Bar Association National Bar Association Illinois State Bar Association Chicago Bar Association Cook County Bar Association American Association of Justice Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Lawyers Assistance Program Board of Directors PUSH Excel Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.Elected offices held: 2004, Democratic Nominee for 3rd District Commissioner, Cook County Board of Review 2004, 3rd District Commissioner, Cook County Board of Review 2008, Democratic Nominee for 3rd District Commissioner, Cook County Board of Review 2008 3rd District Commissioner, Cook County Board of ReviewHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I seek to ensure that no property owner pays more than their fair share of property taxes.To accomplish this goal, each property taxpayer should be assessed taxes based upon a current and accurate value of their property.I have worked hard to make homeowners throughout Cook County aware of the assessed value appeals process.This has proved particularly important given that Cook County reassesses property every 3 years, and many homeowners have seen the values of their properties decline annually.Key Issue 2 Improving citizen access to the property assessed value appeal process so that everyday citizens, much like business owners, can have their values reviewed and adjusted if supported by the evidence.Key Issue 3 Moving the assessed valuation appeal process toward a paperless process from start to finish.This year, we made a significant step toward accomplishing that goal by launching an on-line assessed valuation appeal process.This is the first of a multi-phase project that came about through the collaborative efforts of the Cook County Assessor's Office, the Board of Review and the newly created Bureau of Technology.As this project progresses, and the Bureau of Technology prioritizes the objectives we have laid out for the agency, I believe the agency will become more efficient and its processes more understandable and transparent for anyone seeking to review Board of Review decisions.Questions Answers What changes would you propose in the operation of the Board of Review? Why?I would and have proposed that our agency move toward becoming a completely paperless agency.Because of the nature of our operations and our reliance upon historical information and data submitted from appellants in support of their appeals, going paperless will have to be accomplished in a multi-phase fashion.We have begun the process of becoming a paperless agency by launching our on-line assessed valuation appeal process in 2011.We are optimistic that the Cook County Bureau of Technology will continue to work with our agency to make this objective a reality in the near future.What measures can be taken to trim the influence of firms filing appeals with connections to political figures'The underlying suggestion in this question that there is influence from firms that file appeals based upon "connections to political figures" is one which i do not agree exists.Despite this suggestion, I do not believe there has been any evidence to support the suggestion that this is in fact a reality.I and my fellow commissioners at the Board of Review, and their staffs, work hard to decide each appeal based upon evidence of value, and not any undue or improper influence.How does the Board of Review effectively balance the financial needs of the county with the requests from taxpayers to lower assessments'The Board of Review Commissioners are statutorily obligated to act as quasi-judicial officers hearing property assessed value appeals filed by owners who believe they have been overassessed.It is our responsibility to fairly and equitably decide each appeal filed based upon the evidence.The decisions rendered by the Board of Review should not be based upon the particular financial needs of the county.The county's financial needs will be met by the payment of tax dollars based upon the values determined.The Board of Review decisions do not increase or reduce the amount of money the county receives from property taxes, but rather, affect what amounts each taxpayer pays.What improvements should be made to the office's and the county's ethics rules' What is your view of whether employees should be able to donate to you and others elected? What should the office's policy be on nepotism and why?Any improvements in the ethical rules at the Board of Review which preserve and protect the integrity of the agency's activities and maintain public confidence in the work performed by the Board of Review should be considered.There are a number of practices at the Board of Review that are and have been employed by the elected commissioners, that while not formally published are followed.One such practice that I have employed is not collecting donations or contributions from employees.While many employees have offered to make contributions, presumably because it is their 1st Amendment right and they believe and support my candidacy, i have expressly rejected any such contributions to avoid inaccurate suggestions that any contributions are required.While i have taken this position with my staff, i do not believe that employees should be precluded or forbidden from contributing to elected officials or candidates that they personally want to support.What should be forbidden is any policy or practice which in any way requires or pressures employees to make any contributions or donations of any type.Nepotism which is commonly defined as a favoritism granted a family member irrespective of merit, like most biases or favoritisms which ignore merit, is not something that should be a policy of any government agency.When merit is ignored, it potentially compromises the quality of the services that the citizens receive from their government.Can this office meet budget goals set forth by Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle without compromising services' Is so, how? If not, what alternative do you propose?The Board of Review submitted a budget that would permit it to complete its statutory responsibilities in a timely and responsible way, and in a way that would allow the other involved agencies to complete their work so that the timely property tax bills could be issued.That budget was not fully funded, but rather, was reduced by several hundred thousand dollars.Despite not being fully funded, the commissioners at the Board of Review are committed to hearing every appeal filed and working the hours necessary to complete the analysis on all appeals filed before the agency faster than ever before.We are currently working toward that goal, and am optimistic that we will finish faster than in any prior year in the recent history of the agency.