Endorsement: Kaegi for Cook County assessor

Oak Park asset manager Fritz Kaegi won the Democratic Party nomination last spring in an intense three-way race where exposure of how the office's operation shifted the property tax burden from wealthier homeowners to lower- and middle-class families was a key issue. He said he would employ a proven model to produce fair and accurate assessments, address flaws that allow commercial properties in downtown Chicago to be assessed below value and refuse campaign contributions from tax appeal lawyers. He faces Republican Joseph Paglia of Chicago in the general election. Paglia, who was slated by the party after the primary, is running a nearly invisible campaign. Kaegi is an easy choice.