Berrios concedes in topsy-turvy assessors race

[lunasun]

Trailing badly in his re-election battle Tuesday night, Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios called one of his main challengers to concede the race less than two hours after the polls closed.

Kaegi, of Oak Park, spent the contentious campaign hammering Berrios not just for hiring members of his family, but also for a property tax assessment system found to be rigged against lower income minority homeowners.

Berrios insisted he had made necessary reforms that included “streamlining the office” to cut costs and “improving the appeals process for home owners and recouping lost revenue.”

Last week, a new report found the most valuable homes in Chicago were undertaxed by an estimated $800 million over a five-year period, with the bottom 70 percent of houses picking up the burden.
Berrio’s office slammed the report’s author for releasing it days before the election.

However, that report followed a review by the Civic Consulting Alliance that affirmed an analysis by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica, which found the system transfers wealth from low-income homeowners in largely minority areas to higher income homeowners.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/rival-says-berrios-concedes-in-topsy-turvy-assessors-race/

[frazzled]

1. Yes, but I think this race may be contested

Because of the screwup with voters being told votes for Andrea Raila would not count. I think Kaegi still would have won (I voted for him), but she does have a pretty strong to say the race was unfair.

In any case, Berrios was toast.

[lunasun]

2. Yes- the dem incumbent Berrios is out either way -vote totals showed him far behind