Assessor and Crook County Dem chairman sued over racially-biased property assessments

You mean it's not the Republicans who are out to screw the poor and the minorities?

The Cook County Assessor's office has always been a cash cow for the Chicago Machine. The current assessor, Joseph Berrios, is also the chairman of the Cook County Democratic P:arty.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios, alleging that his office “systematically and illegally” shifts residential property tax burdens to minority and low-income homeowners.

The lawsuit comes after months of allegations against the assessor for undervaluing homes in majority-white and majority high-income neighborhoods

Homes in minority and low-income neighborhoods were allegedly overvalued to make up for the disparity.

“It is fundamentally unfair that families in this community are required to pay artificially inflated taxes for their homes and bear a disproportionate share of the tax burden in Cook County,” Patrick Brosnan, of Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, said in a statement.

Assessments in Crook County have been a racket for decades. Oh, did you know that Cook County has never had a Republican assessor? The racket works like this--connected property owners hire law firms with clout to appeal property taxes to get an even better deal from the assessor. According to analysis by ProPublica Illinois, the tiny law firm in which state Democratic Party chairman Michael Madigan is a partner filed more appeals than any other firm. In third place was a law firm where a powerful Chicago alderman, Ed Burke, is a partner.

Yet people in increasing numbers keep blindly voting Democratic in Cook County.