EXTRA: How would you keep the 7 percent cap?

Joe Berrios: I will work with Springfield to either put the 7 percent cap in permanently or come up with another solution. Springfield needs to put in a panel to look at this property tax system immediately. Unless there is a law or a procedure that forces the bank to renegotiate, the banks will not do anything. The assessor’s office is supposed to send out notices to see if properties are still being used for not-for-profit purposes.


When I started at the Board of Review, we turned the system around. We used to have maybe 3,000 people protest their taxes. Now, we have more than 30,000. People know their rights and their exemptions. This is not happening at the assessor’s office. We need to set this up so they don’t have to go through three layers to get a reduction.


We will reopen all the suburban offices to serve these communities. If you overpaid on your taxes, you lose money in three years. We need to find a way to let homeowners know they are losing your exemption. We would be implementing a new kind of notice.



Do you see any reforms that could be made in Springfield?

I have been talking with the speaker and the governor to let them know that we need to do something immediately so people don’t get sticker shock. We need to get in as a group and tackle this problem even with a temporary measure this year and finish the job next year.



Do you see any role in the assessor’s office that helps Hispanics gain the benefits of home ownership?



Anything the ...