Eaton: A primer on Cook County Board of Review

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An Evanston resident fills out a complaint form to have her property tax assessment reduced by the Cook County Board of Review. | File photo

Updated: January 9, 2012 9:22AM

The Cook County Board of Review. Property assessments. Tax appeals.

Hmm..., eyes glaze over. OK, let’s try again.

The board of review. Billions of dollars at stake. Political intrigue. Alleged corruption. Power struggles.

Now do we have your attention?

Combine the first description with the second, and you’ve got an accurate picture of the environment surrounding the county board of review. Ignored by most and flying under taxpayers’ radar since before its 1998 introduction, what goes on at this obscure but important government agency could make a normal, non-Illinoisan’s hair stand on end.

And the sad thing is that the late board of review member Maureen Murphy said many times that her goal in urging the change from the old two-member board of tax appeals to the three-member board of review was to deter corruption in property assessment in the county.

Most people didn’t appreciate then her strong belief on how important it was that those making property tax appeal decisions be held accountable to taxpayers.

All those conversations with Murphy were replayed in my mind when our latest property tax bill arrived in the mail. Our home, like most others, has dipped in value to a level of 10 years ago while our annual tax bill is at its highest.

Evidently, a growing number of Cook County property owners are frustrated with the situation. In 2010, Cook County assessment appeals neared 386,000, according to board of review member Dan Patlak.

“The year before that was the highest year on record. That year, 436,000 parcels of property were appealed,” Patlak said.

The first place struggling or frustrated property owners can go for help is their township assessor’s office or the county assessor’s office. If that doesn’t work, the next step is the board of review.

“If a property owner were to believe his assessment was too high, he would fill out a complaint form on paper or online and submit that to the board of review,” Patlak said. “He would also submit any evidence he thinks would buttress his case for a reduction in his assessment.”

Come on, don’t let those eyes glaze over yet. This is important.

Although the board’s three members are elected from geographic districts, each has an equal say in every tax appeal.

“Obviously, the caseload is too great for each commissioner to analyze himself, so they have a staff of analysts that does that,” Patlak said.

All cases from a particular township are divided into thirds, with each board member’s staff initially getting one-third of the appeals. Those cases go to the analysts, who review the case and put their findings in the file’s jacket. That file is passed along to the staffs of the other two board members for similar review.

“In order to get (a reduced assessment), two of the commissioners’ analysts have to agree with the findings,” Patlak said. “When there’s a disagreement, there’s a discussion and most of the time an agreement is reached.”

In 350,000 or more cases each year? How many people are handling these cases? He said each board member has about 20 analysts.

“My job is to make policy, and since I’m there every day, I oversee the work that’s done. Since I’m an experienced analyst myself, it’s not uncommon for staff to ask me for input,” Patlak said.

But that’s not all. There’s more to the process, more than I can cover in one column.

The whole property tax appeal process does sound intimidating, and most Cook County homeowners think long and hard before opening this can of worms. What if the appeal results in a higher assessment?

Patlak said he set into motion an education effort when he joined the board last January, traveling to suburban townships and holding evening meetings to explain the appeal process.

If you think what goes on at the board of review has little effect on you, you’re mistaken.

Whenever a property’s assessment is reduced, its tax is less, but the amount of property tax revenue sought by local governments doesn’t change. That means that other Cook County taxpayers are forced to make up the difference, which can be significant if a large business property’s assessment is lowered.

And that’s the rub.

In these tough days, no one is in the mood to pay more than their fair share of property tax, especially if the guy next door or business down the block has been given a break.

I don’t have space today to get into the corruption, conflicts of interest and political intrigue within the Cook County Board of Review. But I will in my column next week.

You may not have thought much before about the board of review, but you’ll never think of it the same way after you learn what I’ve learned.

Fran Eaton is a Southland resident who co-founded and edits the conservative political blog illinoisreview.com.