The Cook County Board of Review was shaken up Tuesday night as challenger Elizabeth “Liz” Nicholson decisively unseated incumbent Samantha Steele in District 2 for the consequential three-seat property tax body.
Nicholson claimed victory shortly after 8 p.m., riding a 43,000-vote lead to a landslide win that saw her capture 61.7 percent of the total vote.
The defeat marks a primary ousting of a sitting board member. Steele’s campaign never recovered from a string of controversies, including an arrest for alleged drunken driving and other potential ethics concerns, which led the Democratic Party to withhold an endorsement of the incumbent and instead back Nicholson as a challenger.
“Tonight, the voters of the 2nd District voted for integrity and experienced leadership,” Nicholson told The Real Deal in a statement. “We will build a fair and transparent property tax system that works for all of us.”
Steele conceded the race as the final suburban precincts trickled in, ending her one-term tenure. “I respect the will of the voters,” Steele said. “Property taxes are the foundation of our communities… Though this chapter ends here, the fight for fair, sustainable funding and relief for homeowners continues.”
In District 1, incumbent George Cardenas claimed victory in a phone call with The Real Deal around 9:30 p.m., but said his opponent Juanita Irizarry had yet to call him to concede. Cardenas appears to have weathered a tough challenge from Juanita Irizarry.
Irizarry — the candidate backed by incumbent Assessor Fritz Kaegi, who conceded his own race against Patrick Hynes — successfully flipped the city of Chicago by a margin of 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent. But she couldn’t overcome Cardenas’ strength in the suburbs. Cardenas held a 7,322-vote lead overall as of 8:30 p.m.
Cardenas harshly criticized Kaegi’s two terms in the assessor’s office in an interview.
“Arrogance and not admitting mistakes” defined Kaegi’s approach to the assessor’s office, Cardenas said.
He also was rooting for Nicholson in her race, characterizing Steele as a frequent opponent of himself and fellow Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers.
“We’re going to finally be on the same page, work as a team for the betterment of Cook County,” Cardenas said of Nicholson’s addition.
The results provide a mixed message for the county’s tax system: while city voters showed an appetite for Kaegi’s aggressive commercial assessment reform, the suburban electorate and the Democratic establishment successfully held the line for the Board of Review’s more traditionalist wing.
The general election featuring winners of Tuesday’s primary contests will be held Nov. 3.