OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF COOK COUNTY 118 NORTH CLARK STREET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60602 (312) 603-4600 ‘op: (312) 603-5255 Ton! PRECKWINKLE February 2, 2018 Honorable David Orr Cook County Clerk 69 West Washington, Suite 500 Chicago, IL. 60602 Dear Clerk Orr, As expressed to you yesterday morning, I want to first restate my disappointment in your approach to our efforts to reform the residential property tax system in Cook County. Any deficiencies in the current assessment system date back decades, through multiple assessors and Boards of Review, and span a good part of your tenure as County Clerk. As a stakeholder in the administration of property taxes, you have had ample opportunity to raise your voice and put forth recommendations on a system we all want to be fair and equitable to all. Additionally, following our conversation, I spoke with both Brian Fabes and Rasmus Lynnerup of the Civie Consulting Alliance. Contrary to the assertion in your letter, both confirmed to me that in the interest of building trust, the August 2017 meeting between the Civic Consulting Alliance and the various stakeholders in the property tax system was to be confidential. Had you attended the meeting, you would know that, By releasing sensitive information at a very preliminary stage and speaking to media, you broke that trust, which is why I have not invited You or your representative to any subsequent meetings. I pride myself on being a transparent and accountable public official for almost 30 years, and transparency and accountability are two key guiding principles of my administration. My office is not a stakeholder agency in the property tax system, but I have an abiding interest in ensuring faimess in all aspects of Cook County government, so I have every intention of making the findings and recommendations of the consultant's review publicly available ~ something we expect to do this month, But releasing information that is incomplete or in draft form, and which then is easily subject to misunderstanding or misinterpretation, does not help us resolve this complex issue. In fact, it causes us to spend time defusing false or misinformation instead of focusing on the task at hand.We will continue to work with CCA, the consultant, the Assessor and Board of Review on the analysis and to implement the changes needed to reform the property tax assessment system for the benefit of our residents. I am sorry, based on your previous actions and recent statements, that you cannot be party to the solutions we expect to achieve. Sincerely, dCi Sol Toni Preckwinkle President Cook County Board of Commissioners |