From the Daily Herald:

Commisioner Patlak and his opponent attended an endorsement interview by the Daily Herald  on Wednesday.  Here is the first story about that interview.

Dan Patlak and Sean Morrison agree on one thing — that it’s vital a Republican retain the District 1 seat on the Cook County Board of Review.

They differ, however, on who that Republican should be.

Patlak and Morrison will square off in the March 20 Republican primary for the District 1 seat. It will be a rematch of the February 2010 primary, which Patlak won with 53 percent of the vote. The three-member Board of Review is the agency that reviews complaints about property tax assessments.

Both candidates recently met with the Daily Herald to discuss their qualifications and experience.

Fighting corruption

Now the incumbent District 1 commissioner, Patlak said he’s running for re-election so that he can build on initiatives he helped bring about during his first years on the board — the introduction of online appeals and the publication of the board’s first-ever annual report among them. He also wants to act as a “check-and-balance” figure in a county dominated by Democrats.

“It’s not healthy that nearly every office in Cook County is filled by Democrats,” Patlak said. “Complete control by one party is an invitation to corruption.”

Experience & record
Patlak, a Wheeling resident, said his experience makes him a clear choice in the upcoming primary. Before being elected to the Board of Review, Patlak served as the Wheeling Township assessor and, before that, he worked as an analyst for former District 1 Commissioner Maureen Murphy. He is a certified Illinois assessing officer.

Patlak also touted his record, including working to get a Freedom of Information Act page on the board’s website. “I’ve worked hard to make the board work more efficiently and transparently,” he said.

Looking ahead

One of Patlak’s key goals for the future is to build on the technological changes he helped introduce during his first term on the board.

“I think we need to do more with digitalizing our system,” he said. “I’d like to get it to where residential appellants can actually submit evidence through their computers. And I think we have to work toward digitalizing all our records. It makes things easier for taxpayers, and it saves the county money.”

Read the full story here.

Citizens for Dan Patlak has snagged the endorsement of one of the most respected, powerfuland well-liked Republican leaders in Illinois. Congressman Peter Roskam who is the fourth ranking Republican in the House of Representatives had this to say about Patlak’s candidacy: “Dan Patlak is a man of character and integrity. He works hard at his position of Board of Review Commissioner and always has the best interests of taxpayers at heart. Dan is exactly the type of person Republican voters should support. He has my enthusiastic endorsement.”

“Congressman Roskam and I have known each other since 1996 when he was a state representative and I was working on his colleague, Al Salvi’s campaign for U.S. Senate,” said Dan Patlak. “I have admired Peter for many years because of the principled conservative stances he has consistently taken in the state house and the congress. To be endorsed by Congressman Roskam in the upcoming March 20th primary is a great honor. I hope someday we will be calling him Speaker Roskam,” concluded Patlak.

Dan Patlak was sworn in as a Commissioner of the Cook County Board of Review on December 6, 2010.  Patlak’s defeat of the incumbent commissioner was the first time a Republican defeated a sitting Cook County level Democrat in fifteen years. Patlak is fulfilling his pledge to work as the first ever full-timecommissioner at the Board.

The 1st Board of Review District encompasses approximately five-hundred square miles, stretching from Lake Michigan west to the Kane County border and south around Chicago to the border of Will County then east to the Illinois Indiana border. It includes over 1.7 million residents. Click here to view a map of the district.

PATLAK, TURELLI, LEVINE HEAD LIST OF NTRO ENDORSEMENTS

WINNETKA — Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Dan Patlak led the slate of candidates that the New Trier Republican Organization endorsed Saturday morning at the Winnetka Community House.

The NTRO also strongly endorsed six other candidates, including Lauren Turelli (58th Illinois House District), Marc Levine (9th Illinois Senate District), Dr. Arie Friedman (29th Illinois Senate District), Rep. Robert Dold (10th U.S. House District), Timothy Wolfe (9th U.S. House District), and James Pieczonka (Cook County 12th Subcircuit Judge).

Patlak, the incumbent, has brought more efficiency and better representation to taxpayers at the Board of Review. A long-time member of the New Trier Republican Organization, Patlak first won election to the board in 2010.  In winninghis seat two years ago, Patlak became the first Republican in 15 years to unseat a Democratic incumbent for a county office.

“Dan Patlak’s impact on the Board of Review has resulted in more efficiency and transparency in the office as well as savings for taxpayers,” said NTRO Committeeman Bill Cadigan, who also offered his personal endorsement of Patlak at the meeting. “The NTRO is very strongly in support of his primary campaign and will be there with him this Fall as he seeks re-election.”

Turelli, a Lake Forest resident, received the endorsement over obstetrician Dr. Mark Neerhof in the race to replace retiring Democrat Karen May. Turelli ran a strong campaign against May in 2010, while Neerhof is running a credible primary campaign for the seat as well.

“It’s great news for voters in the 58th that we have two very strong, qualified candidates,” Cadigan said.

Levine is running unopposed in the primary but will face presumptive Democrat nominee Daniel Biss for the 9th District Senate seat to be vacated by Jeffrey Schoenberg.

“This race will be a contrast in approaches to handling the state’s fiscal mess,” Cadigan said. “Marc Levine is very knowledgeable on the state’s massive unfunded public pension liabilities that threaten our future, and he’s committed to fixing the problem.  He is just the kind of independent thinker and problem solver that wins elections on the North Shore.”

Friedman, a Highland Park pediatrician, is running for the Illinois Senate seat that Lake Forest Democrat Susan Garrett holds.  The state’s budget woes were a recurring theme during the endorsement meeting, as WLS-AM radio personality Dan Proft headlined the morning with some remarks.  NTRO also held a straw poll for President in which former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won by an overwhelming margin.

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For more information about the New Trier Republican Organization, please click here: www.ntro.org  Phone: 847-251-6100

The Patch interviewed Dan Patlak about property taxes.

Do all those property tax numbers make your eyes squint? If you're looking for some clarity, you're in luck. Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Dan Patlak will host a property tax seminar in Northfield Township on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The event is at 7 p.m. at the Bernard Weinger Jewish Community Center, 300 Revere Dr. in Northbrook. Patch talked with Patlak to learn more about the seminars.

Related: Understanding Your Cook County Property Taxes

Patch: Why is it important for residents to attend the property tax seminars?

Patlak: No one should pay more than their fair share of taxes. Therefore, any property owner who believes they may be overassessed owes it to themselves to attend a Board of Review Assessment Appeal Seminar to find out the range of reasons a home may be entitled to an assessment reduction. Any taxpayer who wonders why property values can go down while property taxes go up will walk away with several reasons for that occurence. Any homeowner who wants to learn more about which exemptions they may be entitled to should plan on attending as well.

Patch: How many people usually attend, and what are their reasons for coming?

Read more at The Patch.