Cook County assessor to seek second term

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi says he will seek a second term in 2022 in an effort to continue work to "root out corruption and mismanagement."

Kaegi, of Oak Park, announced his campaign Wednesday for reelection to the office that sets the taxable value of property in Cook County. He ousted two-term Chicagoan and former Cook County Democratic Party chair Joe Berrios in March 2018 in a three-way primary, then beat Republican Joseph Paglia of Chicago that November.

Berrios had been criticized in several news reports, including a series by ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune, for giving breaks to wealthy property owners and shifting the tax burden to the poor.

After taking office, Kaegi hired new top staffers and changed the property assessment process.

Since his election, Kaegi said Wednesday on Twitter, "We've come across the challenges we knew we would face: a system of cronyism and special favors."

"But reforming a broken system takes time," he said, "to ensure we get four more years."

Illinois' primary is June 28, and the general election is Nov. 8.