The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-02-10
BY BRUCE CATION
NEA Service Writer

CHICAGO, Feb. 1O.-"Keep taxa
ton and your real property assess
ments entirely out of politics unless
you want to follow Chicago to finan-
cial chaos"
If any other city, looking on Chi
cago'S bankruptcy in awed wonder,
would like to know how to avoid
a repetition of Chicago's fate, there's
the answer. 1t comes from John o.
Rees, director of the joint commits
sion on real estate valuation, a Chi
cago citizens organization that has
been trying for months to get Chi
cago and Cook county back to some
sort Of financial stability.
ReeS knows the subject from end
to end. More than a year ago ne
was employed as an expert by the
joint legislative revenue committee
of the Illinois legislature, which
studied the situation here thorough
ly; and the one word with which he
sums up Chicago's present Difficult
ties is --"Politics!"
Chicago and Cook county, between
them, are more than $275, 900, 900 in
the hole. Bills are going unpaid,
employees aren't getting their sala-
ries, essential services are being
endangered.
How Come? Asks Visitor
The visitor from the outside. nat
urally, has two questions. First he
wants to know "HoW Gomez" And
second, he wants to know, What
can my city do to avoid getting in
similar f1x?"
Three specific causes stand out
of the tangled political web in
which Chicago now finds itself:
l. For many years, the Chicago
tax lists were secret, thus Offering
wonderful opportunities to graft
ing politicians to get assessments
reduced without public knowledge.
2. Two taxation boards assumed
equal powers and threw the entire
system of taxation into one grand
mess.
3. To gain political advantages,
representatives of the urban dis
trict-the rich "loop"-and of the
suburbs have been endeavoring to
get taxes for their constituents
below fair levels.
GsrTIT0n oh Of &n4
here has been a political plaything,
or tool, for years" Mr.. Rees ex-
plains.
Two Groups of Assessors
Cook county has two assessing
bodies. There's the board Of asses
sors, with five members, and the
board of review, with three. In the
DRY, the assessors make the original
assessments and the other board re-
views them to see that they're
equitable.
"But in practice the boards have
equal power. Each one does what
the other Is supposed to do. Each
one makes and reviews assessments
without consulting the other.
I'm most states, property assess
ments are supposed to bear some
definite relation to market value.
In Chicago they don't. One piece
of property will be assessed at 80
per cent of market value and an
adjacent piece will be assessed at
20 per cent. Political pull has been
the big thing"
This inequality went unnoticed
for a long time because Of the policy
of secrecy. Many property owners
paying high taxes were led to be-
lieve their taxes were low and didn't
try to find out what their neighbors
we're paying.
Politicians Happy
Big Bill Thompson, the builder,
was mayor, his henchmen and
friends filled the other Jobs, the
party war chests were full and the
politicians were happy.
Now this was all right, so long as
nobo.1y knew what his neighbours
assessment was. But early in 1928
the state tax commission ordered
the county to publish the new 1927
assessments lists, in toto.
Then the storm broke. The IN
credible favoritisn that had pre-
vailed was open for every one to
see. More than 10000 citizens filed
suit in the courts in protest.
Accordingly, in May, 1928, the tax
commission ordered complete re-
assessment Of all Cook county real
estate. And right there was where
the trouble began.
For it developed that this or
der automatically Cancelled the 1877
assessment, Just completed; and the
1927 assessment, in turn, automat-
ical1y Cancelled the preceding as
sessment; so that Cook county
found itself without any assessed
valuation for any Of it's property.
No Taxes Collected
This, in turn, meant that no taxes
could be collected until new as
sessment had been completed.
The reassessment hasn't been fin
ished yet. 1t is reported here that
it may be finished by the first OF
June, but few believe it.
Next. "Big Business comes TO
the rescue &. =. and an interview
with SiIas Strawn, chairman Of the
citizens relief committee trying 70
pull Chicago out Of the holA