Republican state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (Elmhurst) is hoping to see some good come from Gov. J.B. Pritzker's ongoing property tax scandal.
“If the probe leads to greater reforms for our property tax system, I’m all for it,” Mazzochi told the DuPage Policy Journal. “I think the property tax and appeal process has been a source of inside wheeling and dealing for decades now.”
According to WBEZ Radio, the new Democratic governor finds himself and several family members including his wife under federal probe after they allegedly ordered workers to remove all of the toilets from one of their Gold Coast properties as a way of saving approximately $330,000 on their property tax bill by lowering the assessed market value of the home from $6.25 million to just over $1 million. Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard later blasted the act to have the home declared uninhabitable a “scheme to defraud.”
Illinois State House Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst)
“I’m thinking maybe he should have had (House Speaker Mike) Madigan’s law firm handle the work,” Mazzochi joked. “Maybe then, there wouldn’t have been any traces left.”
To the question of will having such a big cloud hanging over his head impact the way Pritzker governs, Mazzochi said she’s taking a wait-and-see attitude. Meanwhile, through his attorney Marc Elias, a partner with the law firm of Perkins Coie, Pritzker said neither he nor his wife have been contacted in connection with the probe, adding that he has done nothing wrong and is confident that he will be fully vindicated.
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