Lake County Taxpayer Bill of Rights

PRESS RELEASE: Sent May 30th 2018

Board Candidate Wasik Wants Taxpayer Bill of Rights

Grayslake, IL (5/6/18) -- Lake County Board Candidate John Wasik (District 6) today called for a "Taxpayer's Bill of Rights" for all county taxpayers.

Wasik, a taxpayer advocate who officially launched his campaign for county
board today, is calling for three points in his Taxpayer Bill of Rights:

* Assessment Fairness. We have a right to know if our assessment and
equalizer is fair and uniform. How is it calculated? How does our
assessment compare to similar, local properties?

* Review Fairness. We have a right to a fair review of our property
assessments. We need a complete, independent evaluation of how the Board
of Review handles appeals in light of a recent lawsuit against the
Chief County Assessor.

* Budget Transparency. We have a right to know how the county is spending
our tax dollars. That means explaining every line item in the county
budget as well as expenditures on administration, "communications" and
total litigation costs.

"We've been in the dark far too long on why we're paying some of the highest property tax rates in the country," said Wasik, a co-founder and former president of the Citizens Action Project, a
non-partisan taxpayer advocacy group. "It's time to shine a light into this black box." Wasik will be circulating petitions to garner support for the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

"We need to be fully informed taxpayers," Wasik adds, "and need to know if we're being treated fairly. That means complete transparency and accountability. No excuses."

Wasik is running as a Democrat for Lake County Board for the 6th District
(Grayslake, Hainesville and sections of Round Lake Park, Round Lake
Beach and Wildwood). For more on him and his campaign: https://electjohnwasik.com/