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?TAX BREAK CLOUT" THE THEME OF A Chicago Sun-Times investigative series will be featured on CFAT news pages just as the former Sun-Times columnist Raymond Coffey's numerous 1999 reports are published. Just when the Cook Count Board or Review elected officials Commissioner Maureen Murphy, Robert Shaw and Joseph Berrios thought it was safe to get back in the murky backroom political waters BAM! Sun-Times team, Mark Brown and Tim Novak, expose these tax shenanigans. Property taxes are rising for three of every four Chicago homeowners, including 31,268 who were hit with at least a 50% increase when the bills were due in November 1, 2001. Chicago has 425,493 homeowners whose property taxes will increase. About half will see their bills rise by as much as 20%, according to the office of Cook County Assessor James Houlihan. Assessor Houlihan's LakeView Twp. home received a 4% increase while Lake View homes on the average received a 43% increase in the 2000 Chicago triennial. Dates and Captions for the Chicago Sun-Times reports are as follows: October 28, 2001: PLAYING THE PROPERTY TAX GAME Two houses. Same block. Same age. So why is the owner of the house on the left paying 34 percent less in property taxes than his neighbor? Maybe because he's an alderman. Four Chicago Officials Show How the Average Joe ? or Maybe Just a Favored Few ? Can Get a Tax Break. NOVAK October 30, 2001: BOARD OF TAX APPEALS WANTS TO HELP YOU SAVE Commissioners in Cook County Promise to Provide Service Fit for an Alderman. BROWN November 4, 2001: Letters to the Editor ? It's Time to Fix Property Tax System: Tax Reform Action Coalition (TRAC) Citizens for Fair Assessments & Taxes (CFAT) November 6, 2001: TAX BOARD OFFERS SERVICE WITH A FURROWED BROW Some Workers Aren't Aware Their Bosses Say It's OK to Do Legwork for Taxpayers BROWN November 26, 2001: TAX BREAKS FOR A DEAD MAN Twice in the Past 2 Years Patrick Kissane Appealed the Assessed Value of His Home and Received Big Tax Cuts. One Problem: He's Been Dead for 25 Years. Tax Review Board Staffers Cash In, Cut Their Own Bills. OKs Reduction Value of Wife's Home; Another Pockets $1,000 After Appeal. NOVAK November 27, 2001: CLOUT STILL GOES A LONG WAY IN COOK COUNTY It would be good to see the state's attorney start picking up some slack created by the US Justice Department's new emphasis on terrorism, which is bound to leave fewer federal investigators looking into allegations of public corruption. BROWN November 28, 2001: COUNTY BOARD OF REVIEW FIRES 2 WORKERS. Both helped get assessments lowered on their own homes. NOVAK December 2, 2001: Letters to the Editors: TAX SHENANIGANS & TOSS ?EM OUT December 3, 2001: Letters to the Editors: TAX BOARD EXPOSED & CRONYISM RUNS RAMPANT December 12, 2001: ?SO COOK COUNTY,' SO UNFAIR TO US The Power Brokers Get Breaks From the Cook County Board of Review, and The Insiders There Can Manipulate the System to Their Benefit. Chicago Sun-Times Editorial To view some of these articles see www.Chicagosuntimes.com search section or contact CFAT at 312-573-0308 for copies of these news articles. CFAT News Source news@fairtaxes.net CHICAGO SUN-TIMES INVESTIGATION EXPOSES CRONYISM IN BOARD OF TAX REVIEW |
