ENDORSEMENT: Frederick ‘Fritz’ Kaegi for Cook County assessor

Democrat Frederick “Fritz” Kaegi of Oak Park would have been a strong candidate for our endorsement even if his Republican opponent Joseph Paglia of Chicago had not virtually disappeared from public view in this race.

Kaegi has promised to do away with an unfair property tax system in which working-class people pay higher rates than wealthy people do, and he has the background and skills to deliver. He holds an MBA from Stanford, he has spent a career valuing assets as a financial analyst. He is a certified Illinois assessment officer.

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Earlier this year, the Civic Consulting Alliance released a study saying the Cook County property tax system is so skewed that, for example, the average owner of a $600,000 Chicago home pays an effective tax rate that is 24 percent lower than the owner of a $300,000 house.

We need to end this long-running and regrettable practice. Kaegi is endorsed.

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SUN-TIMES 2018 ILLINOIS VOTING GUIDE

Ahead of the historic 2018 elections, the Sun-Times is teaming up weekly with the Better Government Association, in print and online, to fact-check the truthfulness of the candidates. You can find all of the PolitiFact Illinois stories we’ve reported together here.