Cook County Assessor's Office Announces Listening Tour

Assessor Fritz Kaegi partners with Cook County Commissioners to hear taxpayer concerns

CHICAGO – The Cook County Assessor’s Office, in partnership with members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, announced its first set of dates today for its countywide Listening Tour, which will allow taxpayers to hear directly from Assessor Fritz Kaegi about his plans for the office.

Beginning in April, the Assessor’s Listening Tour is part of a commitment to transparency in the administration of the office. In addition to hearing directly from Assessor Kaegi about his work, attendees can ask questions and get a progress report about the new Assessor’s efforts to create more accurate and fair assessments.

“I’m elected by the voters, by the taxpayers of Cook County,” said Assessor Kaegi. “We’re accountable to them. So we have a responsibility to demonstrate our accountability and give taxpayers an update on our efforts so far.”

The Listening Tour fulfills a key part of Assessor Kaegi’s 100 Day Plan. The Assessor will visit each district in the county at least once, present an update on the office’s plans for increased fairness, ethics and transparency, and engage in a moderated “fireside chat” with a community leader chosen by the Commissioner of that district. Audience Q&A will follow.

Each stop on the listening tour is co-sponsored by a commissioner of the Cook County Board.

“We pledged to work directly with the Commissioners on reforms for our office,” said Assessor Kaegi. “They’re all great advocates for their constituents’ concerns about assessments. We’ve received great feedback so far and look forward to working with them on our Listening Tour.”

To ensure information about the Assessor’s Office is as accessible as possible, language translation services will be available at many of the stops on the tour and will be listed on the flyer. For more information on which languages are available, please send an email to communications@cookcountyassessor.com.

The Listening Tour includes the following dates and locations:

Saturday, April 6

10:30 a.m. - 12 noon

Grand at Twin Lakes

920 E Northwest Hwy, Palatine
With Commissioner Scott Britton (D-14)

Moderator: Bill Attea, Former Glenview School District 34 Superintendent

1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Trickster Art Gallery

190 S. Roselle Rd, 2nd Level, Schaumburg

With Commissioner Kevin Morrison (D-15)

Moderator: Heidi Graham, League of Women Voters

Tuesday, April 9

6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Wilmette Park District Community Recreation Center

3000 Glenview Rd., Wilmette

With Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D-13)

Moderator: Daniel Biss, Rust Belt Rising

Wednesday, April 10

6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Schiller Park Community Center

4501 25th Ave.  , Schiller Park

With Commissioner Peter Silvestri (D-9)

Moderator: Jane Grover, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning

Saturday, April 20

1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Mary Lyons Public School

2941 N. McVicker Ave., Chicago

With Commissioner Luis Arroyo, Jr. (D-8)

Moderator: Vanessa Valentin, Northwest Side Housing Center

Thursday, April 25

6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Belding Elementary School

4527 N. Tripp Ave., Chicago

With Commissioner Bridget Gainer (D-10) & Bridget Degnen (D-12)

Moderator: Adam Slade, Metropolitan Planning Council