Thank you for the opportunity to testify before this Advisory Board. My name is Andrea Raila. I'm president and senior tax consultant for Andrea Raila & Associates, a private consulting firm that for ten years has concentrated exclusively in the field of real estate taxation. 

We assist taxpayers in researching and preparing property tax appeals. Our firm actively educates the public on how they can appeal property taxes on their own, without using a lawyer or other professional assistance. We also advocate for public policy reforms that can make the tax and appeals system more fair, equitable and transparent. I have four years of government experience as a Cook County Board of Review case decision-maker and one year of service within the City of Chicago Department of Revenue's "Taxpayer Advocate Office". Now in the private industry, I have represented taxpayers before appeal boards in Cook, Will, DuPage and Lake Counties. I have been a long time advocate for an open and understandable statewide property tax system. 

I hope I can bring to this Advisory Board an insider's and an outsider's perspective to your consideration of legislative changes to the funding formula that will reduce Illinois' over reliance on property taxes used to fund public education. 

In 1989 Cook County collected over $4.2 billion in real estate taxes. In 1998 property taxpayers turned over about $7.8 billion in taxes. This is an 86% increase in only 10 years!   And the number of tax appeals before Cook County appeal boards doubled from 36,000 in 1984 to 72,000 in 1998. Additionally, in Cook County the cost of legal services in tax appeals can be excessive. Lawyers' fees are often exorbitant, reaching as high as 50% commission on taxpayers' savings. Smaller businesses often cannot afford 50% contingency fee arrangements and some small businesses, even those with obvious tax inequity claims, are often refused service by law firms. Taxpayers are fed up with the property tax appeal process in Cook County.

Cook County has the largest, most complex taxing body and appeal system in the country. The number of errors and inaccuracy inherent in a large system make for increasing work for tax lawyers and consultants. 

Cook County's property tax system, particularly in the initial assessment stage, tax appeal processes, tax refund & tax sales systems are plagued with administrative problems and government employees in those areas are over loaded with public criticism and resentment. Public confidence is at its all time low. 

Cook County has seen an exodus of companies that cannot get sufficient tax relief through the appeal process or county tax "incentive" programs. Attached is documentation that clearly illustrates our need to find a new funding formula for public education. Briefly:

Finally, Cook County homeowners fed up with ever increasing real estate taxes have organized a binding referendum petition drive that would cap Cook County's triennial reassessments at 5% for homes lived in for 5 years (see petition). 

Cook County homeowners and businesses have lost their confidence in the property tax formula for funding education. They have clearly taken steps to promote change. I urge the Advisory Panel to promote legislation that would change the funding formula and reduce the percentage of property taxes used to fund public education. There is a growing tide of Cook County businesses and homeowners imposing their own changes on the tax mix by relocating and utilizing binding referenda. Considering that Cook County has almost 50% of the state's property tax base, passage of new education funding formula legislation is urgently needed. 

Thank you.