Corruption behind higher tax bills

The election of Joe Berrios to Cook County assessor is frightening and makes me feel helpless. The taxes we paid for 2009 increased by 8.6 percent over last year, and our property evaluation figure increased by 52 percent, all at a time when home values have gone down by as much as 30 percent over the last couple of years. Because our property taxes are paid in arrears, we were told last year that it would take another year, this year, to have the downturn in the market reflected in our bill.

As head of the Cook County Board of Review, which determines whether properties have been unfairly assessed, Berrios granted large decreases for commercial properties represented by attorneys who also contributed to Berrios. It has been reported that 92 percent of the reductions went to commercial properties.

Berrios has had a good working relationship with House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, who represent wealthy clients in appealing their tax bills to the Board of Review. When Berrios goes to Springfield to represent his lobbying interests, he already has the benefit of Madigan and Cullerton's support. For this, he has been called “a walking conflict of interest.”

Now, Berrios claims he will give up his lobbying interests as assessor. He is going from being the lead of who gets tax breaks to being the one who sets the assessments. That is where the helpless feeling comes in. Cook County government has been so rife with corruption that I don't feel there is anyone or any office that I can turn to with trust in honesty and integrity to help when I feel we have been taken advantage of.

For now, I am paying my second installment of our 2009 tax bill marked “PAID UNDER PROTEST” and hoping that all the watchdog groups are watching very carefully.

Karen Goettsche

Inverness