Cook County assessor candidates spar over property taxes, campaign donations
Cook County assessor candidates spar over property taxes, campaign donations | Chicago Report Debates
The two Democratic primary candidates for Cook County assessor sparred over their approach to reigning in property taxes and campaign contributions on Wednesday night’s Chicago Report Debate.
CHICAGO - The two Democratic primary candidates for Cook County assessor sparred over their approach to reigning in property taxes and campaign contributions on Wednesday night’s Chicago Report Debate.
Incumbent Assessor Fritz Kaegi is facing a primary challenge from Pat Hynes, the Lyons Township assessor and former employee of the county office.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi is facing a primary challenge from Pat Hynes, the Lyons Township Assessor, in the 2026 election. (Photos provided)
Election Day is March 17, but early voting begins this month across the area.
Here are our main takeaways from the debate.
Blame for large property tax bills
Surging property tax bills across parts of Cook County have been a big issue in recent years.
Hynes argued that it was Kaegi’s office’s "volatile" assessments during that time that led to big increases in those bills. He also said Kaegi’s office was working off poor data to make its assessments.
"Right now, the data used to produce the assessments creates an unjust result," Hynes said. "The garbage data that the county assessor has, that they’re putting through their modeling, does not produce a credible result on the other side."
Kaegi said his assessments were in line with the market. He blamed the appeals of his assessments by attorneys representing large businesses with property in the county.
"I think it’s unfair, and it shouldn’t have happened, and I’m concerned," Kaegi said of the increases. "The reason why is, my assessments, if they had not been changed, homeowners would have had less share of the burden."
Kaegi added that if his assessments had not been changed, two-thirds of Chicago’s neighborhoods would have seen no change or lower assessments.
Property owners can appeal for a lower assessment, and therefore a lower bill, on their property with the Board of Review. Kaegi said those appeals then shift the burden of property taxes off businesses and onto homeowners, who are less likely to use attorneys to appeal.
Campaign contributions
Kaegi attacked Hynes for taking campaign donations from those same property tax attorneys, which he suggested means they’re looking for more friendly assessments if he were to win.
"I’ve never taken a dime from property tax appeals lawyers," Kaegi said. "They make a lot of money. They make a commission off of this and my opponent’s campaign is being bankrolled by property tax appeals lawyers."
Hynes said taking those donations does not mean he’ll favor property tax appeals lawyers when making assessments, if he were to win. He also said Kaegi’s campaign has received more donations from "real estate interests," although he did not specify what those interests were.
Hynes also defended his broad support, including from aldermen and other township assessors.
"When you have a broad range of folks who are aggrieved by a county assessor’s office that is not functional, you’re going to find a broad range of support," Hynes said.
Bears stadium tax break
Both candidates appeared skeptical when asked about the legislation before state lawmakers that would allow the Chicago Bears to negotiate their property tax burden for a new stadium in Arlington Heights.
The bill would apply to other "megaprojects" throughout the state, but the candidates were worried such a measure could result in a "race to the bottom" with big developers fighting to not pay their "fair share" in taxes. The Bears have said they’ll look to build a new stadium outside of Illinois if the legislation doesn’t pass.
"The key thing is we want the investment to happen in Cook County," Kaegi said, but he added, "We don’t want to be making concessions that the next generation of people who have to be paying property taxes have to live with."
Hynes said the legislation, as written, is "a little too broad." He’s worried that other developers of big projects can work the system to get favorable property tax bills, therefore again shifting the burden onto homeowners and smaller businesses.
"Will there be an unintended consequence?" Hynes said. "Will there be future megadevelopments that come out and then local municipalities aren’t able to defend themselves against a large developer who would like to avoid paying their fair share of property taxes?"
You can watch Fox Chicago's previous debates for the 2026 primary election season here: