In 2010, Wheeling Township Assessor Dan Patlak pulled off a substantial Republican victory that many statewide did not follow. Patlak took back the suburban seat on the 3-member Cook County Board of Review from Commissioner Brendan Houlihan, a Democrat, that in 2006 defeated a Republican incumbent that had won and established the seat eight years before, the late Evergreen Park-based Maureen Murphy.
Patlak's victory over Houlihan was celebrated by Cook County Republicans, who celebrate few such major victories in their Democrat-dominated political arena. Patlak's Republican perspective gives Cook County property owners comfort in that there's at least some opposition and gridlock in that all-important office. So when it was discovered that Patlak was going to be challenged once again in 2012 by a fellow Republican, Illinois Review asked for interviews with both men. Patlak, who served as the Wheeling Township Assessor, is married with one son. He met with us at the Wheeling Township GOP headquarters for the interview.
Part 1 of a 4-part series with Patlak will focus on his work at the Board and some of his background.
IR: So, how do you like your new job at the Board of Review?
IR: Frankly, talking about the Board of Review makes most people's eyes glaze over. What stirred your interest in becoming a comnissioner?
IR: Wasn't Maureen Murphy key in how the Board of Review was set up in 1998?
IR: So when you began working for Commissioner Murphy in 1998, you were a part to setting up the new expanded version of the old Board of Appeals ...
IR: Are you then the highest-level elected Republican in Cook County?
IR: For those who haven't followed the office, what exactly does the Board of Review do and how does an appeal work itself through the system?
IR: How many property appeal cases does the Cook County Board of Review deal with in a year?
IR: How is it possible for 19 analysts to deal with that many cases in any year? What is your job specifically?
In Part 2, Commissioner Patlak will explain the importance and the challenges of serving on the Board of Review.
