Pawar to Ed Burke on Trump lawsuit: ‘You are representing a racist’

The City Council’s most powerful member came under fire from a fellow alderman Monday for filing yet another lawsuit aimed at winning property tax refunds for the hotel and vacant retail space in the riverfront tower that bears the name of President Donald Trump.

Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th) condemned as a “disgrace” Finance Committee Chairman’s Edward Burke’s decision to file a sixth lawsuit that, if successful, would deprive the city and its public schools of millions in sorely-needed revenue and put that money into the pockets of a man who has “demonized” Chicago and its immigrant population.

“You have a president who is consistently threatening to defund our city because we are a sanctuary city that welcomes immigrants…And you have an individual working on his behalf to defund us even more. It’s outrageous. Where is the line?” Pawar said.

“I take it personally when the president uses racist and code language about violence in Chicago. I take it personally, as a son of immigrants, when the president picks on immigrants and refugees…Donald Trump does not deserve representation…This is the kind of stuff that diminishes confidence in our system.”

Pawar said Burke’s representation of Trump is particularly galling, considering the fact that Burke represents a majority Hispanic 14th ward.

Addressing Burke directly, Pawar said, “Stop representing Donald Trump and his interests. You are representing a racist and a bigot and a demagogue who wants the tax cut to further defund the institutions…we all represent. There are times like this when chasing the dollar—chasing every last dollar—[is not right]. We have a moral responsibility to think about the city first.”

Burke brushed past a reporter on his way out of Monday’s Finance Committee meeting, ignoring a question about the lawsuit he filed on Trump’s behalf.

As City Council dean and chairman of the Finance Committee, Burke holds tremendous power over his colleagues and the fate of the ordinances they propose.

He controls the legal fees of aldermen who need representation and extra funding they use to hire part-time employees.

All of that normally means that aldermen are loathe to challenge or criticize Burke in public.

But those rules apparently don’t apply to Pawar, the former Democratic gubernatorial candidate who dropped out of the crowded race last month saying he simply doesn’t have the money to compete against wealthy competitors.

Pawar hasn’t rule out a 2019 race for mayor. But he has no intention of running for a third-term and violating his self-imposed two-term limit.

That gives him the freedom to challenge Burke when most other aldermen wouldn’t dare.

Last year, the Chicago Sun-Times Watchdogs reported that Burke’s law firm specializing in property tax appeals has helped Trump and investors in his luxury downtown hotel and condominium cut their property taxes by 39 percent over seven years, saving them $14 million.

When Burke’s law firm succeeds in lowering taxes for its clients, that means higher bills for other property owners to make up the difference. Attorneys on tax appeals generally work for a percentage of the savings.

In a Sunday follow-up, the Watchdogs reported that Burke has filed yet another lawsuit aiming to win property-tax refunds for the hotel and vacant retail space in the riverfront skyscraper that bears Trump’s name.

The latest lawsuit Burke filed on behalf of Trump seeks to win millions of dollars in refunds on property taxes collected as far back as 2009 for the Chicago Board of Education, the city of Chicago, Cook County government and other taxing agencies.

One case has been dismissed. Five others are still pending, all arguing that Trump’s tax bills were too high because his hotel and retail space at the Trump International Hotel & Tower is worth far less than Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios and his predecessor, James Houlihan, said it is.

Another case remains before the Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board.

None of the cases spells out just how much money Burke is seeking for Trump.

But documents filed by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office — which defends all lawsuits filed by taxpayers seeking refunds in Cook County — estimate that those refunds could total more than $3 million.

If Burke is successful, Trump would get to withhold the amount of any tax refunds from future property-tax payments. Based on the proportion of tax bills that each government body gets, half of any refunds would come from the Chicago Public Schools, and City Hall would pay 20 percent.