The Chicago Association of REALTOR® helped the City realize and resolve an error that could have caused numerous Chicagoans to overpay their property tax bills.
It was discovered that the Cook County Assessor’s Office had inaccurate records for taxes in certain neighborhoods, as a result of scamming or other misinformation. REALTOR® Daniel Merrion of City Point Realty was one of the C.A.R. members who volunteered their time to work with the City and see the errors corrected.
“We worked with the City and had them re-open the window of time during which people could appeal their taxes,” he says. “We supplied them with statistics and information, and for the first time, they actually took REALTOR® information from the MLS and used it to calculate a more accurate assessed value.”
A number of C.A.R. members worked tirelessly to see this error resolved. “We pulled everyone together as one voice,” says Merrion. “It got C.A.R. and the real estate community doing a public service and establishing the value of a REALTOR®.”
A special word of thanks to Mabel Guzman and Brian Bernardoni for taking the lead on this important initiative.
C.A.R. thanks the following members who were involved in this action: Andrea Geller, Angela Clark, Ben Gagliardi, Dan Merrion, Fran Mizzi, Fred Siliger, Gaspar Flores, Jeff Procopio, John A. Michailidis, Kate Mangan-Smith, Kathleen Baggett, Ken Baker, Danny Scollan, Diana Turowski, Erika Villegas, Faith Cade, Kywana Ross, Laurie Ann Foote, Lea Larsen, Luminita Ispas, Marie Leaner, Mary Parker-Harris, Paul Popp, and Steven J. Harris.