Chicago alderman resigns, gears up to join property tax board

The latest alderman to resign from the Chicago City Council in a wave of departures will join the county panel that handles property tax assessment appeals, with a goal to ease the burden on homeowners.

Alderman George Cardenas, who is leaving the 12th Ward seat he’s held for 20 years, plans to emphasize assisting homeowners in what could cause a shift of the Cook County Board of Review’s tendency to provide relief on commercial property tax hikes pursued by Assessor Fritz Kaegi.

Cardenas announced that he would resign from the City Council effective Nov. 30 to join the Board of Review.

The Southwest Side alderman won the Democratic primary for the First District seat in June, ousting Democratic commissioner Tammy Wendt and is unopposed in next week’s general election.

Cardenas will represent a district that is now plurality Latino following 2020’s redistricting.

In campaigning for the Board of Review seat, Cardenas has said the county’s property tax system operates to disadvantage minority homeowners who are less likely to appeal their property assessments and less likely to win those appeals if they do.

An analysis that the Cook County treasurer’s office released last year found that much of the burden of 2020’s property tax increases rested on Black and Latino suburban property owners, as well as Cook County businesses. Black and Latino communities made up six of the top 10 areas with the largest tax increases for homeowners and seven of the top 10 increases for commercial properties, according to the treasurer’s findings.

Kaegi, who also won a primary this year in his bid for another term, has drawn the ire of Cook County’s commercial real estate owners, who say he’s driven up assessed values, and their taxes with them, on their assets based on select sales of nearby properties, without giving enough weight to the income generated by properties.

The Board of Review, though, has become an ally of commercial property owners. It’s unclear where Cardenas stands on how commercial properties have traditionally been assessed, although he’s campaigning with a focus on reducing the weight of all property tax owners, with a greater focus on assisting residential owners grasp the appeal process.

“It’s an absurdity that taxes eclipse mortgage payments at a time when folks can least afford it. At the outset of an attempted economic recovery, we need policies focused on easing taxpayer burdens on home and business owners,” Cardenas tweeted in August.

He has said he wants to help Latino property owners navigate the property tax appeals system.

Cardenas is the 16th Chicago alderman who has either resigned this year or is not seeking reelection in February.

His departure gives Mayor Lori Lightfoot another opportunity to appoint a new City Council member, the fourth this year. Cardenas previously endorsed his former chief of staff Anabel Abarca to succeed him.

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