Voters weigh Cook County leaders, property tax hike

Toni Preckwinkle’s bid for a fourth term as Cook County Board president landed voters in familiar territory Tuesday, as she once again faced Bob Fioretti in a rematch of their race four years ago. This time, though, Fioretti is running as a Republican. Meanwhile, Tuesday’s ballot also featured a referendum asking voters to pay more in property taxes to help bolster the Cook County Forest Preserve District’s budget.

In their last battle, Preckwinkle defeated Fioretti, an attorney and former alderman of Chicago’s 2nd Ward, in the Democratic primary for the same job in 2018. Fioretti, who was recruited by the Chicago GOP, entered the race after the June primary. That gave him just 12 weeks to campaign while introducing himself for the first time as a Republican. Preckwinkle, meanwhile, had the advantage of incumbency and her position as head of the Cook County Democratic Party.

This is the first board president’s race since crime and bail reform have come to the forefront of voters’ minds alongside a rise in crime during the pandemic. Fioretti framed himself as the pro-law enforcement candidate while highlighting Preckwinkle’s association with embattled State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, her former chief of staff.

Preckwinkle has defended criminal justice reforms she helped oversee by pointing to investments in violence prevention efforts and arguing bail reform was an issue of justice that prevented low-level, nondangerous offenders from being held in jail simply because they could not afford it.

Fioretti highlighted what he described as Preckwinkle’s irresponsible budgeting practices. Preckwinkle has led the 17-member County Board since 2010, where she oversaw the growth of the county’s budget from roughly $3 billion during her first term to a projected $8.75 billion next year. She also pushed through an increase in annual pension payments and the expansion of the county’s health system.

While Fioretti criticized the growth in the county’s budget and attempted to remind voters of past tax hikes under Preckwinkle, allies touted her fiscal stewardship, including improvements to Cook County Health, a raft of COVID-19 recovery programs and improved bond ratings, as justifications for a fourth term.

Before heading up the County Board, Preckwinkle was a longtime member of the Chicago City Council as the alderman of the 4th Ward.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s ballot also features a referendum question from the Forest Preserve District asking voters to hike their property taxes to give the district an annual budget boost of $40 million.

The referendum question requested a 0.025% increase above the current state-mandated Property Tax Extension Limitation Law cap for the district, bringing the limit to 0.076%. The owner of a median-priced home in Cook County pays $36 to $47 in property taxes per year to the district, and passage would raise the property tax by less than $20, according to the district.

The question had little organized pushback. Even the tax-averse Civic Federation urged a yes vote, arguing the preserves had managed a remarkable turnaround in terms of governance and finances.

Of the $40 million the Forest Preserve District is expected to raise, it planned to spend $7.3 million to buy more property, $6 million for facility maintenance, $6.3 million for land restoration and $9.7 million for pension payments. The Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe and Brookfield Zoo, which both sit on district land, would get $2.4 million and $4 million, respectively, for capital maintenance.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is also seeking his fifth term, taking on Republican attorney Lupe Aguirre and Libertarian candidate and sheriff’s office Sgt. Brad Sandefur. Accusations that Dart was soft on crime amid a local spike in shootings and theft were dampened as he successfully knocked several challengers off the ballot in the Democratic primary.

In his bid for a second term, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi faces Libertarian candidate Nico Tsatsoulis. Kaegi took over the office four years ago on a platform that he’d clean up the office following two terms under Joe Berrios’ leadership.

Maria Pappas, Cook County treasurer since 1998, is competing for her seventh term. She faced off against Republican Peter Kopsaftis and Libertarian Michael Murphy. Meanwhile, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough faces former Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica, a Republican.

The runs by Peraica, Fioretti and Aguirre this year were part of a broader effort by the local GOP to fill ballot vacancies.

Tuesday’s race is key to Cook County Republicans’ bid to thwart an effort to whittle their superminority on the county board even further. All 17 board seats were on the ballot, and only one incumbent Republican — Sean Morrison — ran for reelection.

The Cook County GOP put up a large slate of candidates to take on Democrats earlier this year, but few campaigns took off — several Republicans did not fundraise or launch websites, and seven were removed from the ballot. But among the key races considered competitive: in the 14th District, where first-term Democratic Commissioner Scott Britton fought to hold onto his seat, and in the 9th, where an open race to succeed a longtime Republican commissioner has attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.

Since the June primary, the Cook County Democratic Party has spent $550,000 to help Britton and Maggie Trevor, the party’s nominee in the 9th District, according to filings with the state board of elections.

Trevor faced Matt Podgorski, owner of the polling firm Ogden & Fry and a logistics manager for the bottling and distribution company Reyes Coca-Cola. Britton, meanwhile, was up against hedge fund manager Benton Howser.

aquig@chicagotribune.com