Hynes defeats incumbent Kaegi in Cook County Assessor Democratic primary

Challenger Pat Hynes defeated incumbent Fritz Kaegi in the Democratic primary for Cook County Assessor.

Kaegi conceded to Hynes via a social media post saying, “Tonight wasn't what we were hoping for, but the fight for a fairer tax system continues.”

Unofficial results showed Hynes leading Kaegi by nearly 30,000 votes with 98% of the precincts reporting. That translates to a 5 percentage point lead in the race.

Hynes is in his first term as Lyons Township Assessor, a largely service-oriented post that doesn’t actually do any assessing or handle appeals like township assessors in other suburban counties. He spent more than 20 years as a field inspector with the Cook County assessor’s office, including three years under Kaegi.

Hynes received the backing of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, along with a number of Chicago-based politicians.

Kaegi, from Oak Park, has served two terms in the post despite being largely seen as a party outsider. He wasn’t endorsed by the county Democratic Party when he first ran eight years ago, though he was endorsed by Cook County Democrats in 2022. He was passed over again this year.

Kaegi was criticized for COVID-era assessment breaks he gave to residential property owners, which put the burden on commercial property owners at the time. Commercial property owners appealed — often successfully — which in turn shifted the tax burden back to homeowners.

No Republican filed for the office in the primary, but Libertarian Nico Tsatsoulis is running.