Theodore M. Swain
GR Review

Mayor Richard M. Daley has appointed a Property Tax Advisory Council, Chaired by Andrew J. Mooney, Senior Program Director of LISC, Chicago (Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Chicago) and Vice Chaired by Theodore M. Swain of Gould & Ratner LLP.  The Advisory Council, consisting of leading tax practitioners and relevant public officials, was formed by Mayor Daley in response to the current real estate mortgage crisis and to the recent significant and sudden decline in real estate values.  Because of the delays inherent in the assessment system, this all occurred in the face of real estate assessments that had been rising steadily as the real estate market had boomed.

The goal of the Advisory Council is to explore ways of providing interim property tax relief to hard-pressed homeowners to prevent loss of their homes.  As one step in this short-term relief, the Cook County Board of Review re-opened all Townships which it had previously closed according to schedule.  The effect of this re-opening was to allow those who had not filed Complaints for want of reduced sale prices of comparable homes, to file during this period knowing that more relaxed standards would be applied in this now-apparent falling market.

The other task of the Advisory Council is to seek a long-term legislative response to enable the tax assessment system to respond more equitably and promptly in such situations.  A wide range of options were considered in the first two meetings of the group.  The views of the several aldermen present were solicited as this situation directly impacts the residents of their wards.  There was valuable input also from the Assessor's office, the Board of Review and the Illinois Department of Revenue.  Needless to add, the attorneys present also spoke.

The Advisory Council will meet weekly in the near future, and plans to prepare a report with specific statutory, ordinance or administrative suggestions that will address the problems.

Chairman Mooney has been an active force in neighborhood economic redevelopment for many years; and Vice Chairman Swain is one of the most experienced property tax practitioners in the Chicago area, and is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable leaders in this field.  He is also well known for his consensus-building skills in working with sizeable groups on controversial complex and technical issues.

Ted Swain is Of Counsel in Gould & Ratner's Real Estate Group.  He may be reached via telephone at 312.899.1604 or via email at tswain@gouldratner.com.