Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi East Village Association membership meeting Aug. 2, 2021, Homestead at Roots Pizza, 1924 W. Chicago Ave. Presiding: Neal McKnight Aug. 23 is the deadline for East Village residents to appeal tax assessments. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi led an Aug. 2 Facebook Live session on the process before 75 assembled EVA members at this month's meeting. "No one understands property taxes," Kaegi said, even people who have been in government or real estate their whole lives. "It might be more complex by design." The assessor's job is to take the bias out of the property values used on tax bills. The question is whether the first-term assessor is getting it right. Homeowners need to file an online appeal to make their case for a lower assessment. Kaegi contends the county's new algorithm, taking 40 different factors into account, is much more accurate for less expensive properties, but admits that 250 people trying

Residential assessments rose 24% in West Town's tax district, West Chicago township. East Village is in regions 51 and 120. Property assessment notices are out, and increases are substantial. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi will explain the changes Aug. 2 in EVA's first in-person meeting of 2021. Kaegi's office will consider complaints till Aug. 23, and homeowners can appeal the assessor's decisions to the county's Board of Review. EVA's discusssion of the process will be led by Greg Nagel, a real estate broker, CPA and former EVA president. The presentation starts at 7 p.m. at Homestead , the rooftop restaurant at 1924 W. Chicago Ave. Barring technical difficulties, we'll attempt a live stream on Zoom and Facebook . Residential assessments rose 24% overall since 2018, according to assessor's office data for West Chicago township, which includes East Village. Changes vary for each property, but increases reported informally to EVA range from 40% to

Ald. Daniel La Spata speaks to EVA members on Zoom. Live meetings resume in August. East Village Association membership meeting June 7, 2021 via Zoom. Presiding: Bob Zwolinski, treasurer Chicago has extended priority funding to West Town violence reduction and street outreach services. Ald. Daniel La Spata told EVA members June 7 that the city plans to contract with a number of agencies to operate by July. The city's Violence Reduction Dashboard shows 14 criminal sexual assault and 60 aggravated assault victims this year, compared with 9 rapes and 41 aggravated assaults at the same point in 2020. The violence reduction strategy works with young people who are violent crime victims or perpetrators. The violence interrupters build relationships, mediate disputes and connect people to social services. Victim outreach includes shooting. aggravated battery and assault victims. La Spata asked for feedback on how the city should spend $1.8 billion in federal American Rescue Pla

East Village Association membership meeting May 3, 2021 on Zoom. Presiding: Bob Zwolinski, treasurer Rep. Mike Quigley got his COVID shot the day after the Capitol riot, with no side effects. A staff physician told the congressman most people have no reaction to the vaccine—but then again, an allergic reaction wouldn't have much chance against the Jan. 6 adrenaline. The 5th District representative visited a West Town neighborhood cleanup in April; 60 volunteers signed up, and picked up a lot of face mask litter, Neal McKnight reported. Quigley followed up May 3 with a virtual visit with EVA members. Citing FBI Director Christopher Wray on the threat posed by homegrown terrorism , he reflected on the insurrection. He plans to push for accountability and change on the House appropriations, intelligence and oversight committees. "Just about anybody who was there could figure out what we needed," Quigley said, "a retractable fence, a fast-response team, a better

EVA is supporting Earth Day with a cleanup and COVID-safe crafts April 17 at Commercial Park, 1845 W. Rice St. Gloves and tools will be available. There'll be water, juice boxes and Dark Matter coffee, and we'll be giving away 2 Christy Webber Farm & Garden swag baskets. From 10am until noon we will be cleaning Commercial, Honore, Superior and Snowberry parks, as well as the surrounding neighborhood. We will provide lunch at noon for our volunteers (from the awesome Takorea Cocina!) and from noon until 2 pm there will be spring themed crafts at the park for kids. All cleanup participants must stop by Commercial Park before heading out to clean in order to sign a waiver and pick up bags and gloves. (You must wear a mask in the parks!) We ask that you sign up so we can maintain social distancing (and so we know how much food to order). Please make sure that all members of your group are included on the signup. Last minute attendees are welcome, but we can't guarante