Announcing an independent run for county assessor, retiring Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool today took aim at Cook's Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Berrios, his rival for the post.
"He's in the pocket of the special interests, and that's affecting our pocketbooks," Claypool said.
Claypool pledged that he would not take money from property tax lawyers. News reports have shown how Berrios' campaigns are funded by such attorneys.
Berrios, a Board of Review commissioner, speaking to reporters at the County Building, said he works for the taxpayers.
The Board of Review, he said, "will fight for every homeowner's ability to file a complaint with the Board of Review and be heard."
He criticized Claypool for entering the race after the February primary, and listed several rumors about Claypool's political plans, including that he might run for lieutenant governor.
"Now he says he wants to be Cook County Assessor. If that’s the case, he should have run in the Democratic Primary – the party of President Obama," Berrios said in a statement.
"He seems pretty flip and destructive toward the Democratic Party," Berrios said, calling Claypool's campaign "anti-Democratic."
Flanked by Congressmen Mike Quigley (Ill.-5) and Jesse Jackson, Jr., (Ill.-2), Claypool challenged what he called the status quo and "insider politics."
"Those of us who have been fighting for years to change Cook County government are not willing to stand by and concede this office to Joe Berrios and the insider politics he represents," Claypool said in a statement.
Claypool has said he decided not to run for re-election so he could focus on a private health care business, Rise Health Inc. State Rep. John Fritchey is running unopposed for Claypool's 12th District seat.
Quigley, a Democrat who served with Claypool for six years on the County Board, applauded Claypool's entrance to the race.
"This race is every bit as important to the future of Cook County as the County Board (president's) race," he said. "If Forrest Claypool does not run in this election, it could be and would be two steps backward."
Jackson, Quigley's fellow U.S. House member, called it "a bright day in Cook County politics.
Berrios, a commissioner on the Board of Review, has been engaged in a war of words with retiring Assessor James Houlihan, specifically regarding the timing for homeowners to receive property tax bills.
Houlihan said last week that Berrios wants to slow the process so voters would receive bills after the November general election; Berrios claims Houlihan has simply not done his job.
But Claypool said taxpayers are suffering amid the political sniping.
"The assessor's job is not to play favorites. It's to follow the law," he said. He recalled his record as a reform-minded commissioner, superintendent of the Chicago Parks Department, deputy state treasurer and chief of staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Speculation about Claypool's possible run has been swirling for weeks, as had rumors of a possible run for lieutenant governor. Claypool confirmed his entrance into the assessor's race to the Chicago Sun-Times this weekend.
He must get 25,000 signatures by June 22 to get on the ballot.