To help you in the appeals process, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Michael Cabonargi and I will be hosting this workshop to answer any questions you have and to assist you with filing an appeal on-site.

Workshop details are as follows:

When:  TOMORROW, December 12, 6:00pm

Where: Bucktown-Wicker Park Library, 1701 N. Milwaukee

**Please remember to bring a copy of your most recent property tax bill**

For more information on any of the events listed above, please call Bridget at 773-871-4000 or e-mail bridget@fritchey.com

In words and through yellow T-shirts, defenders of the No. 11 bus line begged Chicago Transit Authority Board members Monday night to “slow down’’ plans to kill off nearly half of the Lincoln Avenue route.

Three-quarters of the seats at the CTA public hearing on the agency’s proposed 2013 fiscal budget at one point were filled with commuters wearing yellow T-shirts bearing the words “Save #11 Bus.’’

Seniors with doctors’ appointments, elderly wanting to go to one of the five churches on the No. 11 line, shoppers needing groceries — all insisted the No. 11 Lincoln bus was their lifeline.

“Tomorrow I am going to a doctor’s appointment, and this is the only route I can take,’’ a disabled Alenka Kordish told board members. “Please don’t take the No. 11 bus away.’’

Lisa Martin, director of one of several senior centers serviced by the No. 11, outlined how some seniors would have to take two buses and walk up to seven blocks to get to a grocery store or library if the No. 11 is trimmed back under a “decrowding” plan due to begin Dec 16.

During the first of two public hearings on the CTA’s proposed budget, Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th), state Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago), and Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey all asked the CTA to amend the $1.39 billion operating budget and temporarily save the No. 11 route while elected officials try to piece together funding for a long-term fix.

Pawar suggested trying to tap surplus funds from one of at least four tax increment financing districts that intersect his ward to spare the line, at least temporarily. Fritchey asked for a six-month No. 11 reprieve.

“The T-shirts you are seeing folks wearing are yellow not red,’’ Fritchey told CTA board members. “They are telling you to slow down, not stop.

“We need time to get this done,’’ Fritchey said. “Give us that time. Let us see if we can find an answer. If an answer is not there, the response you will get is ‘thank you’ for giving us a chance.”

Others objected to CTA plans to increase the one-day trip from O’Hare on the Blue Line from $2.25 to $5 for those riders who do not have single or multi-day passes. The $5 O’Hare tab would bring Chicago more in line with other big cities around the country, CTA officials say.

“It is discrimination to raise the O’Hare line only,’’ O’Hare Airport worker Marge DeMora told CTA board members. “That increase of $2.75 a day hits us airline employees.’’

Others charged that plans to raise the cost of fares on passes used by 55 percent of riders unfairly put the brunt of increases on those least able to afford it and most affected by the recession.

However, Laurence Msall of the watchdog Civic Federation supported the CTA’s budget plan, saying it maintained base fares and only raised “targeted’’ ones.

“This is actually the CTA’s first structurally balanced spending plan in seven years,’’ Msall said.

CTA spokesman Brian Steele questioned some of the distances speakers claimed they would have to walk to transit if the No. 11 was killed off between Fullerton and Western, as proposed.

“All of the senior centers between Fullerton and Western are within a block or two of other transit,’’ Steele said. “This segment of the No. 11 was picked because it has multiple transit options, going both east to west and north to south.’’

Steele conceded some riders might have to use two forms of transit instead of one under the proposal, but said other riders are doing that right now in the same corridor.

Link to full article

The website provides a resource that presents the nearly $3 billion dollar Cook County Budget in an easy to navigate and understand format.  Through the use of interactive charts and graphs, users can see unmatched detail of how the County has been spending taxpayer dollars over the last decade, with the ability to compare year-to-year allocations and spending.

“As another budget season has come and gone, and I want to remind everyone that LookatCook.com is the easiest way to look at and understand the County’s budget,” Fritchey said.  “Simply put, LookatCook.com provides the overall picture important for gaining insight not only into current County operations, but also how our behaviors today will effect our long-term prospects. My belief is that this is the taxpayers money that we’re talking about and that the taxpayers should be able to see how that money is being used.”

Commissioner Fritchey has been a vocal leader for increased accountability, efficiency and transparency in Cook County government.  One of his first major accomplishments was the passage of the Cook County Open Government Plan, legislation that provided unprecedented access to the data underlying county operations and laid the foundation for sites such as LookatCook.com.

The creation of the website was a collaboration between Fritchey as well as Derek Eder and Nicholas Rougeux, two leading developers active in Chicago’s Open Government and Open Data movements. Both Rougeux and Eder are founders of Open City, a group of volunteers that create web apps with open data to improve transparency, efficiency, and decision-making for governments and our democracy.

“Look at Cook is a great example of what can come from a collaboration between Cook County and the civic hacker community,” Eder said. “Through this partnership, we have been able to improve transparency and inform the citizens of Cook County. I hope for more collaborations like this in the future!”

“I’m very pleased we’re continuing to update Look at Cook,” added Rougeux.  “Working with Cook County on this type of transparent effort is exciting and I look forward to more projects like this in the future.”

To visit Look at Cook, go to http://LookAtCook.com.

Cook County commissioners on Wednesday voted to end full-time pay and benefits for political appointees on a pair of panels, a change backed by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

Salaries, medical benefits and pension contributions for members of the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Employee Appeals Board will end June 1. Instead, members of the two clout-heavy boards will be paid $500 for each meeting they attend, with annual pay limited to $12,000 plus expenses. Appointees now are paid about $35,000 a year and get benefits valued at more than $20,000.

The changes will save the county about $300,000 a year at a time when some taxpayers are having trouble finding work, much less a part-time job with full-time pay and benefits, said Commissioner Bridget Gainer, D-Chicago.

Such perks are from a bygone era, Gainer added. “They existed at the state. They existed at the city. Most of the positions we have now are unpaid,” she said.

Preckwinkle noted that she appoints people to “50 boards and commissions, and the very vast majority of people who serve do so without pay. . . . They are entirely volunteers.”

The two measures got the support of 12 of the 17 commissioners. An attempt by Commissioners Deborah Sims, D-Chicago, and Joan Murphy, D-Crestwood, to hold off on the votes failed, as did an effort to allow current members to keep collecting their salaries.

“This is a lot of debate about how long to extend a really nice perk for a couple politically connected people,” said Commissioner John Fritchey, D-Chicago. “I know the folks that are on here. They are good guys. They are friends. (But) this is a vestige of everything that’s gotten the public upset with government.”

Gainer and Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston, first proposed cutting the perks exactly one year ago. The changes gained traction in the wake of a Tribune story on Employee Appeals Board member John Bills, a longtime campaign worker for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. The story detailed an alleged ethics violation by Bills in his former role as manager of the city of Chicago’s red light camera program.

Many of the members of the two boards, which each have five members when fully staffed, have political connections. All but one were appointed by former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger.

Among the appointees are Thornton Township Democratic Committeeman Frank Zuccarelli; former Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority CEO Juan Ochoa; retired U.S. Rep. Morgan Murphy Jr.; former Circuit Court Judge Anthony Young; and attorney Kevin Freeman, the son of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman.

The County Board put off action, however, on a similar change targeting the Sheriff’s Merit Board, whose members help determine who gets hired, promoted and disciplined. That measure was first introduced two weeks ago, and Sheriff Tom Dart wanted more time to consider it and possibly seek related changes to state law, officials said.

Members of that board are paid $26,000 a year and are eligible for health and pension benefits. They include Lance Tyson, a onetime Stroger chief of staff who lost an independent bid for the Illinois House last week to indicted former Democratic Rep. Derrick Smith.

Link to full article

The County will impose a $25 tax on the purchase of firearms, while eliminating the proposed tax on ammunition.

The $2 million, which will be set aside in a specific account, will be overseen by an advisory committee and primarily dedicated to grants for non-profit organizations with proven experience in violence prevention or community outreach. At least $100,000 of the funding will be dedicated to education and enforcement efforts aimed at stemming “straw purchases” – firearms that are purchased legally but later used in criminal activity.

“This money will provide needed resources to organizations on the front lines that deal with the impact of violence in their communities on a daily basis. It is critical that we do all we can to reduce violence, keep illegal guns off the street and deter criminal behavior,” President Preckwinkle said. “This proposal is the result of discussions and negotiations over the past several days and I’m proud of our efforts to build consensus and work together throughout the 2013 Budget process.”

The advisory committee also will study existing gun court models and best practices with the intention of presenting a recommendation for implementation by July 1, 2013.

President Preckwinkle stressed that a resolution was reached through cooperation and collaboration between her office and County Commissioners.  She was joined at a news conference by Commissioner John Fritchey (D-12th) and Commissioner Edwin Reyes (D-7th).

“When I announced my proposal, I knew that reducing gun violence and the toll it takes on our residents is a goal President Preckwinkle and I passionately share,” said Commissioner Fritchey (D-12th). “I am grateful and appreciative that we were able to keep our focus on that goal throughout our discussions in order to arrive at this compromise.  As the result of lengthy discussions and negotiations, and with the support of the other Commissioners, we can greatly improve our efforts to reduce gun crimes, put criminals in jail and protect families, all while simultaneously maintaining our commitment to provide efficient and effective County government.”

The seven-member advisory board will consist of President Preckwinkle or her designee, three members of the Board of Commissioners, an individual with law enforcement experience and two representatives from community organizations.

The $25 tax on the purchase of firearms is expected to raise $600,000 in 2013.

Link to full release

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is on the cusp of wiping out the last bit of a highly unpopular sales tax increase approved under her predecessor, but to get there she wants to raise taxes on cigarettes, some large business purchases, video gambling machines, and guns and bullets.

The first-term Democrat delivered that message Thursday as she presented a 2013 county budget that calls for spending $100 million less than when she took office two years ago.

The central trade-off in the financial blueprint hinges on the elimination of the last quarter of a 1 percentage-point sales tax increase enacted under former Board President Todd Stroger. Come Jan. 1, the overall sales tax in downtown Chicago would drop to 9.25 percent. The county’s portion of that is 0.75 of a percentage point.

But that tax cut would result in $86 million less coming into county coffers. To help make up for the loss, Preckwinkle’s host of new and higher taxes would bring in $43.4 million.

The idea, Preckwinkle said, is to reduce “taxes for everyone by twice as much as we have selectively raised them.”

“In doing so, we have incrementally raised the price on items like cigarettes, guns and gambling machines in order to continue to lower the price on milk, toothpaste and other everyday necessities,” she said.

The $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase would bring in about $25.6 million next year, county officials say, even after accounting for the smokers who would cross county and even state lines to escape per-pack taxes of $6.67. That’s second in the country only to New York City’s $6.86.

By contrast, the guns and ammunition tax — $25 for each gun purchased and 5 cents per bullet — would raise just $1 million. And the $800 license the county would require for each slot and video poker machine would bring in about $1.3 million.

Preckwinkle justified those taxes by saying they will defray the costs of the county’s massive public health care and criminal justice systems, which account for nearly three-fourths of the county’s proposed $2.95 billion budget.

“As the leading provider of public health care in our region, I believe that, if you choose to smoke, you should have a hand in paying for the health consequences of your decisions,” Preckwinkle said.

She went on, contending the $800 tax on every gambling machine was equal to a single day’s revenue from a slot machine at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines.

“They keep their other 364 days of revenue,” she said. “We use that one day’s revenue to help mitigate the impact of the associated costs of crime, health, addiction.”

Likewise, the politician from the liberal Hyde Park-Kenwood area stood behind her guns and ammunition tax, which even some allies said might be a tough sell because of push-back from the gun lobby and others who questioned the link between legal gun purchases and crime.

Citing a University of Chicago study, she said 29 percent of guns used in Chicago crimes that are later seized by police can be traced to suburban gun shop purchases. She also said 70 percent of gunshot victims treated at Stroger Hospital have no health insurance.

“Every revenue measure that I call for is targeted, it’s responsible and it’s focused on supporting the services we provide,” she said.

Later, when she was pressed on whether the guns and ammunition tax would really affect criminals, she said, “I make no apologies.”

While the cigarette, gun and gambling taxes each have their opponents, vocal opposition was generated by Preckwinkle’s proposed 1.25 percent tax on the out-of-county purchase of items worth more than $2,500 for use within the county. The administration estimates it would raise about $15 million a year.

Some business owners wondered why the so-called use tax is coming now as the economy is improving.

“The thing that I find frustrating is that we are back in a growth mode, and this is one more regulatory burden that we have to track when we are trying to create jobs,” said Jason Speer, president of Schaumburg-based Quality Float Works, a maker of devices used to measure liquid levels.

Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said Preckwinkle is increasing costs for manufacturers that operate in Cook.

“I think it is unfortunate that President Preckwinkle and Democrats think taxes is the solution to every problem,” Denzler said.

Chicago already charges a 1 percent use tax on items worth more than $2,500, but Preckwinkle defended the plan.

“Our policy here is straightforward,” she said. “If you’re a business and you choose not to support local businesses in your area, that is support our local economy, you will have to pay a little more.”

A county use tax already is levied on titled property, such as cars, boats and RVs. The rate for the titled use tax was raised last year by a quarter percentage point, to 1 percent.

Preckwinkle and county commissioners also raised taxes on alcohol and loose tobacco and cigars. Those taxes, along with the doubling of vehicle stickers for cars in unincorporated areas, are expected to pour about $46.7 million into county coffers this year.

If Preckwinkle gets her latest budget proposal through, she will have overseen the passage of new and increased taxes and fees totaling $90.1 million a year. That’s less than half of the $220 million that was raised in a full year by the half-penny on the dollar sales taxes she will have eliminated. The board had voted to roll back the other half of the sales tax hike before Preckwinkle took over.

To close a budget shortfall originally pegged at $268 million, Preckwinkle also is relying on approval of a federal waiver that will allow the early enrollment of 115,000 more patients in Medicaid that otherwise couldn’t pay for their county health care.

She’s counting on that to net $99 million for the health care system next year, saying approval from the Obama administration is expected in the next couple of weeks. Preckwinkle acknowledged that there are no contingency plans.

“If for some reason that fails, this whole thing goes south,” said Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston. He also said he’s not sure Preckwinkle can muster sufficient votes to pass the guns and ammunition tax because even some Democrats oppose it.

“It only raises a million bucks,” said Suffredin, a strong gun-control proponent who backs the measure. “But I think it’s important to be out there discussing how (lives) are destroyed by these guns and bullets.”

Gun rights groups already have spoken out against the proposal and raised the question of whether the tax would be constitutional.

Just as Preckwinkle enjoys the backing of heart, lung and respiratory associations in raising the cigarette tax, she is backed by gun-control groups on the guns and ammunition measure.

“Is this going to solve the problem? No. But it’s a step in the right direction,” said Colleen Daley, executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Handgun Violence.

Preckwinkle also plans to make $50.7 million in cuts. Those include eliminating 462 jobs, all but 10 of which are now vacant, to save $27 million.

She’s also continuing efforts to reduce the population at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, where it costs $600 a day to house and educate young people accused of crimes, by finding alternatives to get them treatment and guidance. And she’s also making more efforts to reduce the jail population, where it costs $143 a day to detain inmates, by taking steps to get more people accused of nonviolent crimes released on bond while they await trial.

Preckwinkle is even taking the initial steps to lease a second set of county offices on the 34th and 35th floors of a downtown high-rise, a deal that could generate as much as $1 million annually in the coming years.

“I’ve got an office over on the 35th floor, some of my younger staff members say it’s bigger than their first apartments,” she said. “I don’t need this space, and rather than just having it sit there, we’re going to invest in upgrading it so it can be used by other tenants, rented out as a potential revenue opportunity for the county.”

Tribune reporter John Byrne contributed.

Link to full article