Ripe for reform; Does anyone have the political will to merge Cook County's tax agencies?

Crain's Chicago Business

August 7, 2006

By Greg Hinz

With all the talk of cost-cutting and personnel changes suddenly emanating from the County Building, you'd never know political reformer Forrest Claypool came up short in his March primary race for board president.

Everyone from interim President Bobbie Steele to the two candidates running in the November general election-Democrat Todd Stroger and Republican Anthony Peraica-is saying they're going to work 24/7 to make sure taxpayers get the best possible deal. You know, No Waste `R' Us.

I'm sure you, like me, believe every word. But for the skeptics out there, here's a test: Watch carefully to see who quits talking and starts acting to consolidate into one department the four offices that now handle those nasty property tax bills you just got in the mail.

The consolidation idea was first floated a couple of years ago by Commissioner Michael Quigley. He suspects-correctly-that taxpayers could save millions each year and avoid lots of hassles if just one unit of government ran the property tax bill show.

Instead, under the current system, Assessor James Houlihan sets the value of property for tax purposes; Clerk David Orr determines which share of the total tax bill will be paid by each property owner; Treasurer Maria Pappas mails tax bills and collects payments, and Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore keeps records of who owns each property and ultimately who is responsible for the bill.

That would be inefficient even if the departments' computer systems were compatible, which they aren't.

To perform those and other tasks, the four offices collectively employ nearly 1,200 people and spend about $87 million a year. It's not a huge sum, but it represents real money that comes from someone's pocket.

At Mr. Quigley's request, state Sen. John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, last year introduced a bill to merge big parts of three of those departments into a revamped assessor's office. Perhaps not surprisingly, Assessor Houlihan backed the bill-though, in fairness, he says he'd support merging his office into one of the others.

Either way, Sen. Cullerton's bill never made it out of the Senate Rules Committee. How come? Some suggest that Recorder Moore put in an evil word to Senate President Emil Jones Jr. Mr. Moore denies that, but confirms that he opposes any consolidation bill that involves his office. Sen. Jones' spokeswoman says Sen. Cullerton introduced a lot of bills in 2004, and ``we had to establish priorities.''

Whatever the reason, nothing happened-until a couple of weeks ago, when County Board Finance Committee Chairman John Daley abruptly revived the idea, suggesting at a board meeting that taxpayers would be well-served by a change.

``It would make perfect sense to have all of this done under one roof,'' Mr. Daley told me a few days ago. He further suggests merging the recorder's job into the office of clerk of the Circuit Court, arguing, ``You could probably save $25 or $30 million'' a year.

Now, pulling this off is a legal challenge. The state constitution appears to require a referendum if the clerk's or treasurer's job is to be abolished, which may be why Mr. Daley would consolidate the tax jobs under Treasurer Pappas' office. A legal opinion from Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine says the county or General Assembly might be able to do this itself, but he advises holding a referendum. That couldn't occur until at least 2008.

The politics are even more complicated. Ms. Pappas, for instance, says she can live with merging everything under her, but she sounds a bit leery about other options. Clerk Orr is for ``the concept'' of a merger, but wants more specifics. And so-far-silent Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is believed to control lots of county patronage jobs.

So, it won't be easy. But merging the tax agencies is a piece of cake compared with cutting costs at Stroger Hospital. Any candidate who can't commit to this one before Election Day doesn't deserve your vote.

Copyright 2006, Crain Communications

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