COOK COUNTY - The Cook County Board of Review is where property owners appeal for a break in overwhelming tax burdens. BOR Commissioner Dan Patlak was sworn in last January, and already he's facing a challenge for his job from a fellow Republican, security businessman Sean Morrison. In a recent visit with Patlak, we discussed the assessment process and the steps an average property owner would take if he or she felt his or her property was valued too high.
In Part 1, we talked about how Patlak got started with the Board of Review, what he's learned about the job in the first nine months. In Part 2, we discuss more about the process ...
IR: If a property owner is not happy with the decision of the Cook County Board of Review staff, what's the next alternative?
IR: With all that work and responsibility, how can a Cook County BOR commissioner not be a fulltime employee?
IR: That means that you have no other outside business, no other jobs other than the BOR?
IR: In your opinion, is it appropriate for a state lawmaker to assist his or her constituent in appealing their property values? Could you see a problem in such a practice?
IR: Everyone wants less of the tax burden, but maybe by focusing on the BOR, we're missing the bigger, more important picture ...
IR: With the national dilemma of housing values declining in the past few years, wasn't there a county-wide assessment adjustment to correct out of line home and business values?
IR: Please explain to us the controversy of appearing before the BOR with an attorney. Recently, there were accusations that property owners who had submitted assessment appeal forms and those forms were returned to them, and legal representation had been assigned to them without their knowledge. Your thoughts about this?
More on this topic, the controversy over powerful law firms and more in Part 3 of IR's Interview with Dan Patlak, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner.
IR Interviews Dan Patlak, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner
-
Part 2
IR Interviews Sean Morrison, GOP candidate for Cook County Board of Review
-
Part 2
