CHICAGO, IL — Today, candidate for Cook County Assessor Pat Hynes stood alongside Cook County taxpayers and small business owners who have fallen victim to Fritz Kaegi’s mismanagement of the property tax system under his watch. Speakers called the current Assessor’s office “broken” and in urgent need of reform after sharing firsthand accounts of their properties being mis-assessed, driving up their taxes and forcing some to lose their business, livelihoods and savings.

One tool used by the Cook County Assessor’s office to correct mistakes in a property’s assessed value or missing exemptions is called a Certificate of Error (COE). COEs can be applied up to three years after a tax bill has been finalized allowing homeowners to receive refunds for overpaid taxes caused by errors like incorrect square footage, improper classification, or missed exemptions. Every individual standing up today has applied for this, but either has yet to receive it or it was lost altogether by Kaegi’s office.

“Mistakes made by Fritz Kaegi and his office have taken nearly $5,000 out of my family’s savings after falsely taxing my home for being twice the size than it actually is,” said Omero Morales, a homeowner in Bridgeview whose home was assessed at 2,141 SF when it’s actually 1,273 SF. “I followed the rules. Fritz Kaegi didn’t. I’m standing here today not only because I want the money that’s owed to me and my family, but because I’m ready for change. I trust Pat Hynes to make sure that no one else goes through what I did and continue to experience today.” 

“Kaegi’s mistake forced me to sell our longtime family owned and run business, all the while, he got off scot free. It is beyond painful to lose everything, but it is even worse when there is no accountability whatsoever,” said Kathy DeSimone, who was forced to sell her family’s longtime business, Memory Lanes Horse Farm in Willow Springs, after a property misclassification doubled their taxes. “We’ve given Fritz Kaegi plenty of time to get this right. That time is over and we need urgent change. There is no undoing the damage my family has already experienced, but I believe Pat has our back to start making things right.”

“Small businesses and homeowners are paying the price for a system that simply is not working,” said Candidate for Cook County Assessor Pat Hynes. “When assessments are inaccurate and property is left off the rolls, the burden doesn’t disappear. It just gets shifted onto the backs of regular taxpayers. Cook County families deserve fairness, predictability, and an Assessor’s Office that works for them, not against them and they deserve an Assessor who doesn’t give himself a property tax break while most other homeowners face hikes.”

“Under Assessor Fritz Kaegi, my property continued to be assessed as though nothing had happened. Year after year, even with documentation, even with proof of demolition, I was billed tens of thousands of dollars for a structure that was no longer there,” said Janet Edmonds, a taxpayer in Western Springs who lost her home in a catastrophic fire, but Kaegi’s office kept taxing the property as if it was still there. “Instead of focusing fully on rebuilding my life, I spent years navigating paperwork, filing appeals, and asking for refunds for taxes that never should have been charged in the first place.”

“My home is 1,904 square feet. For years, Fritz Kaegi listed my home as 3,339 square feet. That massive and careless error led to my home being overassessed. As a result, I was overbilled $5,112,” said Osman Keskin, a homeowner in Western Springs. “$5,112 is not a rounding error or spare change. It is real money to a working family like mine. That is money that could go toward a mortgage, tuition, savings, or basic security. And I paid it, because I follow the rules.” 

Under Kaegi’s leadership, the Assessor’s Office has also left hundreds of millions of dollars of property off the tax rolls, shifting the burden of making up the difference onto working families and neighborhood businesses. 

Pat Hynes currently serves as Lyons Township Assessor and brings more than 30 years of experience in the property tax field. As Lyons Township Assessor, he has been recognized for excellence in fair and accurate assessments. He previously spent two decades at the Cook County Assessor’s Office and is a certified Illinois assessment officer and member of the International Association of Assessing Officers.

###