Once upon a time, the Cook County Assessor's Office was the most professional government assessment agency in the country. Under the direction of Thomas C. Hynes, morale was high and the employees looked forward to going to work every morning. Salary was based upon merit and professionalism was the watchword. Politics did not enter into how an assessment was derived. The Assessor's job was to assess real estate. This they did and tax policy was a distant secondary concern. That era ended twelve years ago. Since then, hundreds of career employees have run for the doors only to be replaced by people without a passion. Pay is now taken away from certain employees and given to other employees, for no reason except what they call "equity salaries". The Assessor's office is locked in a battle with members of the Chicago Bar. A battle so fierce that commercial real estate, so critical to the fiscal health of local goverment, is now assessed in a very un-uniform manner. Victory over the lawyers will be had at any cost. Any cost at all. At the same time, homeowners are assessed higher and higher only to be told that the Assessor's office is protecting them from big business interest with the 7% Cap. The Assessor's office is now preoccupied with tax policy and assessing real estate is of a secondary concern. Meanwhile local goverment, especially the schools, suffer from all the distractions. The fact is, real estate in Cook County is not being assessed the way the system intended for it to be assessed.
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