Mike Madigan is best known as the longest-serving state House speaker in American history. He’s been Illinois’ House speaker for all but two years since 1983. But Madigan doesn’t make most of his money in the speaker’s chair. He makes it through his business – lowering property tax bills on some of Cook County’s most valuable buildings.
A joint investigation released Dec. 7 by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois reveals the extent to which Madigan & Getzendanner, a law firm Madigan founded in 1972, dominates the property tax appeals business.
The man in charge of the property valuations so crucial to the businesses of Madigan and Burke is Joseph Berrios, the Cook County assessor (a position he attained in 2010 with the help of Madigan’s political workers). Berrios also serves as the Cook County Democratic Party chairman. Meanwhile, Madigan is the state party chairman. He is the only legislative leader in the nation to serve in such a position, according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.
Every dollar Madigan earns back for his corporate clients makes someone else’s property tax bill go up. It falls on the shoulders of Cook County residents not savvy enough to hire a politically connected law firm to appeal their property taxes, or who refuse to play the game altogether.
Madigan has never fully disclosed his sources of income, but the House speaker gave a clue regarding his earnings in 2015, when a reporter asked him whether he’d be subject to a proposed millionaire’s tax.
“Do I make a million dollars in a year? … In a good year I would be subject to this [tax],” he said.
As one of the most powerful state lawmakers in Illinois history, Madigan should be fighting for reforms to address one of the most pressing issues for Illinois’ middle class – the highest property taxes in the nation.
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Talk about conflict of interest and ethical problems galore, but this is just normal business for Illinois.
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