Samantha Steele - Improving Assessment Practices in Cook County, Illinois

Introduction to Assessment Matters podcast 00:00Samantha’s (and Dan’s) background 00:23Samantha’s background in real estate brokerage, real estate valuation, tax representation, and elected officeImportant innovations 6:19Working with old CAMA systems and moving towards upgradesAutomation to handle high volume (of appeals)Moving towards automatic evaluation models 9:08The need for more consistently updated dataDifficulties and challenges when properties are not consistently (re)delineated and reassessedWhat is uniformity and why is it important? 11:46Vertical vs horizontal equityLong term plans 13:30Property appraisal is a long-term projectDeveloping a better culture for the officeWhat drives the high number of appeals in Cook County? 15:10Attorney requirementsProfit in the appraisal industry — bad incentives and lack of transparencyOvercoming a history of corruption and lack of government trust in IllinoisParting advice 17:05Getting involved with IAAOHow to reach Sam