Three Elected CPS Board Members Back Pat Hynes in Cook County Assessor Race (Chicago, IL) – Three elected members of the Chicago Board of Education have endorsed Pat Hynes for Cook County Assessor, pointing to mounting financial strain on Chicago Public Schools caused by delayed property tax bills and what they describe as ongoing mismanagement in the assessor’s office.
Hynes, who is challenging incumbent Assessor Fritz Kaegi, said the recent 135-day delay in issuing tax bills has created severe ripple effects across local government.
“This is not a bureaucratic inconvenience — it is a systemic failure harming teachers, firefighters, libraries, parks and every local government that depends on predictable revenue,” Hynes said. “Cook County deserves competence and fairness.”
CPS board members Jenni Custer, Carlos Rivas and Ellen Rosenfeld joined Hynes at the announcement, outlining the financial fallout for the district and its pension fund.
According to CPS and the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF):
CPS has taken out $1.6 billion in Tax Anticipation Notes because education levy revenue was delayed.
The CTPF is owed $246 million tied to the late pension levy.
CPS is paying $175,000 per day in interest on borrowed operating funds and an additional $44,000 per day in pension-related interest — nearly $220,000 daily.
By December 15, those costs could reach $32.3 million, money that otherwise would have supported classrooms.
“These delays affect every classroom in our city,” Custer said. “Timely, accurate assessments are essential to the functioning of public education. Pat Hynes understands that responsibility.”
Rivas said the financial burden underscores a broader leadership failure. “The scale of waste is staggering,” he said. “This is why leadership matters. Pat Hynes has the integrity and urgency to correct the course.”
Rosenfeld echoed those concerns, pointing to the impact on working families and small businesses. “For seven years, working families have paid the price for mismanagement,” she said. “Pat Hynes has a real plan to restore stability, accuracy and transparency. Families and small businesses cannot afford more chaos.”
Hynes said he is committed to restoring public trust in an office that oversees the valuation of nearly two million parcels across Cook County.
“I am committed to delivering the accuracy and fairness taxpayers deserve so we can rebuild public trust and restore a government that works for the people,” he said.
More information about Hynes’s campaign is available at assessorhynes.com.
Three Elected CPS Board Members Back Pat Hynes in Cook County Assessor Race
