Latest Study Confirms that Office of Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios Needs Court Oversight in Order to Reform

Yesterday afternoon, a long-awaited independent report commissioned by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle confirmed a series of previous studies dating back to 2011: Low-income communities are improperly and unfairly saddled with a disproportionate share of the property tax burden.

In Chicago, Hispanic and African-American communities are systemically over-assessed when compared with residential properties in majority White areas. This is institutional racism.

That’s why in December, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights worked with our co-counsel Miner, Barnhill & Galland and Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym to file litigation on behalf of two community organizations, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and Logan Square Neighborhood Association, against the Assessor’s Office to end this regressive and unlawful system.

At Chicago Lawyers’ Committee, we will not stand by while the Assessor’s Office breaks another promise. The ultimate goal of our lawsuit is to have the Court invalidate the County’s property tax assessment system, and to send an independent monitor who will supervise the adoption of a fairer, more accurate, and transparent model.

For our resource page on Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and Logan Square Neighborhood Association v. Berrios, click here.