Dupage Policy Journal

Property tax records show that Gary Grasso, candidate for mayor of Burr Ridge, received a primary residence tax exemption on his home in Burr Ridge and on a condo he owns in Chicago. Illinois tax law allows a residence exemption on one property only -- the one the taxpayer lives in -- in the same tax year.

Grasso told the DuPage Policy Journal that he was unaware of receiving the exemption on his Chicago condo, and that he would work to correct it.

"Maybe it was something that just rolled over from the previous owner," Grasso said. 

Grasso's Chicago condo | Atproperties.com

An hour after being interviewed, Grasso called a reporter back, thanked him for being alerted to the additional exemption, and said it had been "take care of."

"I got a live person [at the Cook County Assessor's Office] who said it must be some kind of mistake," Grasso said.

When asked if he owed any back taxes on the property, he said he wasn't sure.

"They didn't say. I guess if I do I'll get a notice," he said.

Grasso bought the condo in July 2015.

Records with the DuPage County Recorder's office show that since 2013, Grasso has received an annual primary residency exemption of $6,000 on his Burr Ridge property at 6030 Grant St. Grasso also received a primary residence exemption of $500.15 in 2016 and $726.60 in 2017 on the Chicago condo at 1357 W. Grand Ave., records with the Cook County Assessor’s Office show.

The Illinois Department of Revenue says that the Illinois General Homestead exemption is “available for residential property that is occupied by its owner or owners as his or their principal dwelling place.” A homeowner, in short, can't declare primary residency in two places over the same year.

Grasso's opponent, Zach Mottl, a trustee on the Village Board, said that taking two exemptions shows that Grasso is unsuitable for office.

"He has been double-dipping and has committed property tax fraud," Mottl said. "In doing so, he has made it impossible to determine where his primary residence actually is, Burr Ridge or Chicago. He is not legally eligible to take the oath of office because he is both indebted or in arrears on the payment of a tax due to the municipality and his primary residence appears to be in Chicago not Burr Ridge."

A Candidate’s Guide for 2019 published by the State Board of Elections requires a “one-year residency in the municipality preceding the consolidated election.”

Grasso, 67, is a native of New York. An attorney, he previously served as Burr Ridge mayor from 2005-2012. Last year, he lost in the Republican primary in a bid for Illinois Attorney General.

Mottl, 40, is a lifelong Burr Ridge resident and officer in the family-owned Atlas Tool Works in Lyons.

The election is April 2.