'Garbage Data': A Deal For Burr Ridge Mansion Owner?

BURR RIDGE, IL – A Burr Ridge mansion owner is likely getting a good deal on property taxes if she gets anywhere near the $10 million she is asking for the property.

Last year's tax bill for owner Jacqueline Laase Parrillo was $57,929, an unusually low amount for a house that is on the market for so much.

According to Cook County's assessment, the property, which contains two lots, is worth $2.7 million.

In 2002 and 2007, the owner bought the properties for $1.7 million and $1.8 million, respectively, for a total of about $3.5 million, the Chicago Tribune reported last month.

The Cook County Assessor's Office defended its assessment of the property at 6191 S. County Line Road. But Lyons Township Assessor Patrick Hynes said it's another example of the county's bad job of maintaining the underlying data to produce assessments.

"Unfortunately, the Cook County Assessor is the only one charged with maintaining the property description books," Hynes said in an email to Patch. "He is the only one in the system that can change a property description. Garbage in = garbage out. It really doesn't matter which modeling he uses if you feed a model garbage data, you cannot produce a credible assessment."

He said it remains to be seen whether the property will bring in $10 million, but he said it is obviously worth more than $2.7 million.

"I'm sure there are thousands of taxpayers that would love to be assessed below their market value from 20 years ago," said Hynes, whose job is to advocate for taxpayers. "The end result is that the neighbors are paying more than their fair share in property taxes when these errors fester."

Meanwhile, Christian Belanger, a spokesman for Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, said the listing indicates the buyer might want to subdivide and redevelop the land.

"If this parcel were to be developed into 7 separate homes, it’s likely that the total value would exceed $10 million," Belanger said. "But we can’t take that hypothetical future development into consideration when assessing the property."

On another note, he said one of the lots lacks street access, which impacts its value. He also said the owner purchased the lots before the housing crash of 2009.

"A listing price is not always a good indication of market value," Belanger said.

Over the last few years, Patch has found repeated examples in Lyons Township of properties that are uncounted or under-assessed in tax rolls:

Over the last few years, Patch has found repeated examples in Lyons Township of properties that are uncounted or under-assessed in tax rolls:

• A well-known investigative reporter paid just a few thousand in property taxes for years on his $1.9 million house.
• A La Grange house was valued at $56,820, but it sold for $200,000 a few years before. The land was assessed, but not the house.
• Eighteen new townhomes were missing from tax rolls in La Grange.
• A Burr Ridge business paid no property taxes on its building for 13 years. The structure was not assessed.
• A Hinsdale house was sold for $3.9 million, yet its property tax bill was just $17,114. The assessment was based on a smaller house that was leveled years earlier.
• After eight years, the Cook County assessor corrected a La Grange house's assessment that was far lower than what it sold for.