Commissioners
District 1
Townships
Barrington ,Berwyn, Cicero, Elk Grove, Hanover,
Jefferson, Lake, Leyden, Lyons, Palatine, Palos,
Proviso, Riverside, Schaumburg, South Chicago
Stickney, West Chicago, Wheeling, Worth
Commissioner George A. Cardenas
George Cardenas is currently in his first term as Cook County Board of Review Commissioner of the First District, which consists of the southwest side of Chicago, parts of the northwest side of Chicago, the western suburbs, and the northwest suburbs. Before he was Commissioner, he served 20 years as a Chicago alderman, where he was the Deputy Floor Leader of City Council, Chair of the Environmental Protection and Energy Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Commissioner Cardenas is also an appointed member of the Cook County Environmental Commission.
As a young child, Cardenas and his family came to Chicago in search of the American Dream after emigrating from Durango, Mexico. After graduating from Lane Technical High School in 1984, Cardenas joined the United States Navy to help pay for his education. After earning an honorable discharge, George successfully earned an undergraduate degree in accounting and a master’s degree in Political Science from Northeastern Illinois University. Before joining government, Cardenas accumulated over a decade of experience working for Fortune 500 companies. This background gives him valuable insight into the needs of the community and a desire to be a voice for positive change for the area.
Commissioner George Cardenas, who was raised in the Chicago neighborhood of Little Village, currently resides in McKinley Park with his family.
District 2
Townships
Elk Grove, Evanston, Jefferson, Lakeview North Chicago,
Leyden, Maine, New Trier, Niles, Northfield,
Norwood Park, Rogers Park, West Chicago, Wheeling
Commissioner Samantha Steele
Samantha Steele is a certified Level III Assessor/Appraiser who brings more than 15 years’ experience in the field of property valuations to her role as Commissioner for the Second District on the Cook County Board of Review.
Commissioner Steele has worked with assessors throughout the United States to establish best practices for residential and commercial property tax assessments and appeal analyses, as well as for business personal property in a variety of assignments.
Commissioner Steele previously served as a County Assessor in the state of Indiana, where she was the first Democrat elected county-wide in more than 30 years. In this role she implemented the use of innovative regression models to settle a backlog of property tax appeals en masse, addressed appeals at the Indiana Board of Tax Review, and taught extensively on assessment topics. She was also responsible for commercial and industrial assessments during the state’s General Reassessment, developed procedures to address contaminated properties, and served on the Lake County Property Tax Board of Appeals.
Commissioner Steele serves as a managing member of the Leanor Group, a woman-owned business founded to serve the specialized needs of local assessment governments. She has been an active member of the International Association of Assessing Professionals (IAAO) since 2007, having served as a member of their professional development committee presenting dynamic courses on valuations for conferences. She has also served as an Assessment Administration Specialist (AAS) candidate, and played an integral role on the Cook County Assessor’s 2019 transition team.
Commissioner Steele attended both Purdue University and the Kent Institute of Art & Design, and has served as licensed real estate broker in Illinois and Indiana. She received her Real Estate and Fee Appraiser certifications from the Real Estate Certification Program (RECP). A native of Bridgeport, she now resides in Evanston with her family.
Commissioner Steele looks forward to applying her years of professional experience to ensure a more fair and accurate property tax system for the residents of Cook County.
District 3
Townships
West Chicago, Lake, Hyde Park, South Chicago, Oak Park, Worth, Calumet, Rich, Bloom, Thornton, Proviso, Bremen, Lemont, Orland, Palos
Commissioner Larry R. Rogers, Jr.
Letter from Commissioner Larry R. Rogers, Jr.
Since 2004, Larry R. Rogers, Jr. has served as Commissioner of the Third District at the Cook County Board of Review (Board). Under his leadership, the Board moved from a process reliant on paper to a completely digital workflow, which increased efficiency, transparency, and accessibility. He is committed to serving the residents and businesses of Cook County and recognizes that both stakeholders are necessary for Cook County to thrive. Commissioner Rogers also understands the importance of the Board’s work and its impact on families, homeowners, and businesses. He is committed to ensuring that property owners pay no more than their fair share of property tax
Commissioner Rogers made it a priority to educate property owners of their right to appeal their property assessments and spearheaded a model to engage property owners in their communities by bringing the Board’s services directly to them through his Outreach program. The employees of the Board of Review are here to serve you and will gladly assist you throughout the process, answer any questions you may have, and ensure that you understand what evidence you may need to best support your appeal and warrant a reduction in your property assessed value.
Commissioner Rogers is also an attorney and equity partner at the law firm of Power Rogers, L.L.P. He has a long history of advocating for victims’ rights, representing individuals and consumers who have suffered injuries or lost loved ones due to negligence by individuals, corporations, or even government. He uses his legal skills to advocate for the nearly two million residents of Cook County that the Cook County Board of Review represents.
Please peruse the Board’s website and consider appealing your property tax assessment if you believe you have been unfairly assessed. There is no fee to appeal your property tax assessment, and the Board of Review will not raise your assessment or the assessments of your comparable properties.
As always, please feel free to contact his office by email, at larry.rogers@cookcountyil.gov or by phone at 312-603-5540, if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions. Commissioner Rogers is honored with the privilege to serve you and looks forward to continuing to work on your behalf.