The Mighty Suffredin Stamp: How Two Illinois Senators Received Significant Reductions in their Property Taxes...

By David “Watchdog” Jenkins

Chicago, Illinois — September 12, 2011 — Do you own a home in Cook County? If so, would you like to get your property taxes lowered?

Of course you would…

But then there’s those pesky people at the Cook County Board of Review. Sometimes they’ll cut you a break. A lot of times they won’t.

Frankly, you’re lucky if they don’t lose your complaint form altogether. The one you’re sure you sent in the mail with a 44-cent postage stamp, but for some reason, they just don’t have a record that you appealed…? That’s because it’s probably sitting in a pile somewhere, unopened, or maybe some enterprising County employee figured out that he, or she, could reduce his or her workload by feeding your unopened package to the recycle bin.

I’m sure it happens…

But there are at least two Illinois State Senators who have the right idea…

When Ira Silverstein and Jeff Schoenberg are feeling that all-too-familiar tightening sensation that most of us are feeling in our wallets right now, they bypass the “middle-man,” in this case, that straight-laced cheap suit-wearing Board of Review representative, and go right to the top – to their 13th District Cook County Board Commissioner, Larry Suffredin.

Submitted November 29, 2008:
Senator Schoenberg’s Assessed Valuation Complaint: click here.
Senator Silverstein’s Assessed Valuation Complaint: click here.
For those of you who don’t regularly attend County Board meetings, you might be interested to know that the 17-member Cook County Board, of which Mr. Suffredin is an elected Commissioner, oversees the appropriation of all County tax dollars, including the money allocated to the Board of Review.

Of course, Cook County depends on money from the state of Illinois, specifically the General Assembly in Springfield, which would include, naturally, the Senate.

Ah – so we have two Senators asking their County Board Commissioner for a property tax reduction, but, of course, we’re to believe that their influence will have no affect on him, as it is to have no affect on the Board of Review analysts, who in this case have to evaluate two appeals, submitted by two Senators on the same day, with the Commissioner’s name stamped on the front page before being forwarded to them for review:



I think it goes without saying that they each got significant reductions: Schoenberg’s assessment was reduced 18%, and Silverstein’s to the tune of 8%.

Of course, let’s not forget that Suffredin, a registered lobbyist with the City of Chicago and Cook County, where it’s not unexpected that he’ll have to occasionally lobby himself, is also entangled with Schoenberg and Silverstein as a campaign contributor, as well as Commissioner and, of course, influence-peddler.

Altogether, Suffredin has contributed $48,107.50, including services, equipment, and fundraising, to campaigns where Schoenberg is the primary candidate and/or recipient, as well as another $3,000.00 for the benefit of Silverstein.

Now how’s that for tangled…?