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Copyright 1999 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. November 2, 1999 LENGTH: 626 words BYLINE: Raymond R. Coffey In 1997, former Chicagoan William Shaw, who remains a Democratic state senator, was elected the first African-American mayor of suburban Dolton, a part-time job. In 1998, twin brother Robert, former alderman of Chicago's 9th Ward, was elected to the remodeled Cook County Board of (Tax) Review. He moved into his new office last Dec. 7. On June 2 this year, Robert Shaw approved and signed off on property tax reductions for 69 taxpayers ? among applicants in 100 consecutively numbered appeals cases ? in Thornton Township, which includes Dolton village hall were brother Bill presides. Even for the Shaw twins' longtime, almost legendary, careers as loose cannons in Chicago area politics, that tally might seem impressive. And it was far from all Shaw managed to get done at the board. It also might leave property taxpayers elsewhere wondering just how the Board of Review operates and how they might get the kind of break those Thornton Township folks got from the Shaw brothers. When he spoke with me Monday, Shaw said at least one of his board colleagues ? Joseph Berrios and/or Chairman Maureen Murphy ? concurred in the 69 cases and that one or more of their staff members also had reviewed them. Shaw had Tom Jaconetty, a lawyer and longtime appointive chief deputy commissioner, sitting in with him on a conference call in which both acknowledged that any of the commissioners might request that a group of cases be held together and considered as a group on which he or she might have particular knowledge or interest. From other information I've obtained in the course of, and since, writing two columns last week about board operations, it appears two of the commissioners ? Shaw and Murphy ? and Jaconetty have computer codes to signal which cases they particularly want to have a look at. The code for Shaw is "A," for Murphy "D" and Jaconetty, who pretty much runs things are the board, "T." Schedules posted on the board's bulletin board indicate the board, with a staff of only about 80 including clerks and secretaries, regularly schedules between 800 and 1,900 "hearings" a day on tax appeals. On "attorneys' days," reserved for lawyers who are hired by taxpayers to handle their appeals ? and who are major campaign contributors ? the board sets "hearings" for from 70 to 125 attorneys, who bring in as many as 300 cases at a time. With that kind of caseload, the job of actually poring over and analyzing case files is largely handled by board employees designated as "deputy members" or analysts. Also, given that caseload, most "hearings" are perfunctory; the deputy members often just stamp the files that attorneys bring and move on. Commissioner Robert was reluctant to see anything unusual in his dealing this year with 2,095 non-residential property tax cases (handled by attorneys) in Thornton Township plus 1,363 residential appeals, of which 784 were approved. Mayor (and Sen.) Bill, though, cheerfully claimed co-star credit for brother Bob's feat. It all began, unbashful Bill said, when Bob, Bill and the board sponsored an "outreach program" at Dolton Village Hall to encourage taxpayers to file appeals and instruct them on how to go about it. The program resulted, Bill said, in "probably 1,200" appeals being drafted, signed by taxpayers and bundled off to the board. "I really couldn't tell you how many of them" won a tax cut, Bill said, "because, you know, if they win, they never come back to tell you how much they got," or to say thanks. "I encouraged them because property taxes (in Thornton Township and the south suburbs generally) are just overbearing. People down here need relief. And I figured they got a break they had coming." CFAT News Source news@fairtaxes.net Shaws Team Up For Tax Relief |
