Does Daley Understand Property Tax Assessments?

By Kevin Robinson in News on Oct 28, 2009 2:20PM

As property taxes in the city are set to skyrocket, Mayor Daley, still reeling from the parking meter debacle, the loss of the 2016 Summer Olympics and an all-time low popularity rating is playing the blame game. After claiming that he'll hold the line on taxes with next year's budget, he's pointing fingers now that property tax bills are set to soar, even while property values have plummeted. Going after Cook County Assessor James Houlihan, Daley proclaimed his ignorance of how property taxes are assessed. "The thing I can't understand (is) this whole assessment deal," the mayor said. "Now, no one's value is going up in the city. ... I'm asking him how he does it." (Our own Chuck Sudo explained how they work in the comments of this post.)

Of course the mayor didn't bother to explain how the county assessor could legally reduce the coming tax bills. (He can't.) But May Day did make a play to be the hero for homeowners that are already stretched thin with the myriad taxes and fees imposed by the city. “My job is to fight for Chicago’s working people and middle class families, and higher city property taxes are the last thing we should be asking homeowners to pay this year,” Daley said. “They need property tax relief and they need it now.” Reaching back into the pot of money the city has from the botched parking meter lease deal, Daley announced a plan to offer homeowners that see their tax bills rise, to the tune of $35 million. Under his proposal, homeowners earning less than $25,000 and who see their tax bills rise by $350 or more will be eligible for $200 from the city.

We're not sure what's more disturbing: the mayor's lack of understanding of the fundamentals of how property taxes are assessed in Cook County or his push to spend all the funds that were generated when the city relinquished its control over the parking meter system.