Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Republican Party slammed Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) for the county’s property tax assessment system following a recent Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois report exposing its problems.

“The corruption from Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan is absolutely disgusting,” Illinois Republican Party spokesman Aaron DeGroot said in a statement. “For years, they have taken money from middle class families and small businesses to help line their own pockets, all the while propping up their political careers.”

The Tribune and ProPublica report made the case that Berrios has failed at his job when it comes to commercial property assessments, with his office failing to properly reassess properties in a way that benefited high-value property owners. The report also noted how Berrios’ office has supported a property tax appeals industry, which has directly benefited Madigan, a property tax attorney whose firm secured approximately $1.7 billion in property tax reductions between 2011 and 2016.

Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios

“If you want to know why Illinois has serious problems, look no further than Joe Berrios and Mike Madigan and their shameful practices of robbing hard-working Illinoisans to make themselves richer,” DeGroot said in his statement.