Will new Board of Review commissioners quell feud with Kaegi

A pair of newly elected commissioners on Cook County’s Board of Review have sparked hopes for a spirit of cooperation–for a change.

Samantha Steele took office to replace Michael Cabonargi and former Ald. George Cardenas replaced Tammy Wendt, the Chicago Tribune reported. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s loudest critic on the Board, Larry Rogers Jr. was also sworn in for a sixth term.

“I don’t view Fritz as an enemy,” Steele told the outlet. “Both offices should have the goal of ensuring assessments are as accurate as possible.”

Cardenas served as the 12th Ward alderman for almost 20 years while Steele has been in the appraisal industry for more than 15 years. Steele previously spent a year leading commercial valuations for Kaegi’s office, and offered hope of playing a role in repairing what has been a strained relationship between the assessor and the board.

Tensions have been high between the board and the assessor’s office recently, with Kaegi claiming the board continuously shut down his attempts to value commercial properties higher than residential properties.

With the new members, the Board will also work to update and modernize the system used to pull property tax data. Kaegi’s office has said that if the board doesn’t update its system, the process will continue to drag.

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Chicago

Chicagoans may pay more property taxes due to commercial assessments

— Victoria Pruitt