Abdelnasser Rashid: Candidate profile
Bio
Party: Democrat
City: Justice
Office sought: Cook County Board of Review, 1st District
Age: 30
Family: My wife, Fidaa, and I have three young children
Occupation: Full-time Democratic candidate for Cook County Board of Review, 1st District; Neubauer Civic Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Former Deputy Assessor/Chief Policy Officer at Cook County Assessor's Office
Education: B.A., Harvard University '11; Neubauer Civic Scholar, MBA candidate, University of Chicago Booth School of Business '22
Civic involvement: I served as Policy Director and then Deputy Chief of Staff for former Cook County Clerk David Orr, and as Chief Policy Officer for Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi.
Elected offices held: In 2018, I ran for Cook County Commissioner against Sean Morrison, the chairman of the Cook County Republican Party, earning 49.4% of the vote
Incumbent? If yes, when were first elected: No
Website: www.rashidforcook.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rashidforcook
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rashidforcook
Questions and Answers
1. What special knowledge or experience do you have that particularly qualifies you to be on the Board of Review? If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?
As Board of Review Commissioner, I'll fight for property tax fairness.
I am well-versed in the complexities of our broken property tax system from my time serving as Chief Policy Officer for Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi. At the Assessor's Office, I led a successful effort to pass legislation to help senior citizens save time and money by ensuring the the senior exemption will automatically renew annually, instead of forcing seniors to apply for the exemption each year, as was previously the case. In addition, I've worked with elected officials, residents, businesses, nonprofits and labor unions on a wide variety of public policy and administrative matters relating to property tax assessments. Prior to that, I served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Cook County Clerk David Orr, whose office oversees parts of the property tax system. My responsibilities included collaborating with multiple stakeholders on the agency's budget.
I have always been guided by values of equity, transparency and efficiency. I will bring that same approach as Board of Review Commissioner.
2. 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 must determine whether the Assessor's valuation of a property is accurate, based on fair market value, and correct the valuation if it is found to be mistaken. The more accurately these decisions are made by the Board of Review, the less frequently property owners will end up paying more than their fair share of property taxes. Additionally, greater accuracy will cause the volume of appeals to decrease, which should result in less overhead. The Board of Review should work to obtain the best market data and technology available to make more accurate and faster determinations. Additionally, the Board should continue education and community
outreach that helps residents understand their assessment and to ensure they receive the appropriate exemptions and tax relief.
3. What changes would you propose in the operation of the Board of Review?
The Board of Review should work to save taxpayer dollars by increasing efficiencies. Using technology and data to make more accurate and faster decisions, addressing the backlog of appeals sitting with the Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board (PTAB), and establishing a clear practice of granting appeals only based on fair market value will reduce overhead, increase assessment accuracy and predictability, and help to build public trust in the property tax system.
Additionally, the current rule requiring individuals to hire a lawyer to represent them at the Board of Review (unless they are representing themselves) should be changed to give property owners more options. Many other states and jurisdictions outside of Illinois do not require an attorney, but allow other experienced professionals to represent taxpayers. Homeowners could have highly professional representation at a lower cost than many attorneys would likely charge
4. How do you view the responsibilities of the board and the level of assessments as they apply to commercial and to residential taxpayers? What differences do you see between the two types of taxpayer and how is, or should be, the board of review set up to deal with them appropriately?
All properties, both residential and commercial, have to be assessed fairly and accurately in order for the system to work. Both types of properties should only be granted appeals based on fair market value-not based on individual property data that do not reflect the market. For example, a downtown Chicago skyscraper that claims significant vacancy should only receive market-level vacancy, which will likely be much lower.
That being said, there are differences in residential and commercial properties that require different assessment methodologies for these types of properties. Commercial properties are typically assessed based on market-level income, expense, vacancy and the relevant capitalization rate, while homes are assessed based on sales of comparable properties.
In both cases, the Board of Review should pursue access to the best data and technology available. Without proper market-level data, appeals will be far more prone to error.
5. Describe your position on transparency and customer service at the board of review. How easy and convenient is it for average citizens to appeal their taxes? What, if anything, should be done to improve procedures?
Whether you are a homeowner appealing your assessment for the first time or a seasoned attorney representing a large commercial property, you should receive the same level of customer service and assistance from the Board of Review. No property owner should get preferential treatment because of who they know or whether they hire clout-heavy property tax lawyers. The Board of Review should constantly be reevaluating how to best deliver accurate decisions as efficiently and fairly as possible. Additionally, transparency is a critical component of building public trust and accountability in the property tax system. As a matter of course, the Board of Review should provide ample documentation about how it arrives at its decisions-including information about capitalization rates, rent, and vacancy. More thorough documentation provides greater transparency to the public and local taxing bodies about the Board's methodology and assumptions and increased predictability for homeowners and business owners when planning for their financial future. As commissioner, my goal will be to ensure fairness, accuracy and transparency at the Board of Review