Cicero, Illinois — November 2, 2010 — Illinois State Representative and House Assistant Majority Leader David E. Miller, is asking Illinoisans to give him a big promotion in November: he’d like for voters to make him Comptroller for the entire state.
According to the Cook County Assessor’s Office exemption history for Miller’s house: “No Homeowner Exemption was applied to the property this year” for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. And this same page, which includes electronic text intended for the general public, indicates that he’ll need to file an application for the current year if he wants to be considered for an exemption [which would reduce his taxes]...
According to the 2009 Taxpayer Exemption Application available at the Assessor’s Office, Representative Miller simply has to assert his residency to receive this valuable exemption:
“As owner of the above property, I hereby apply for the Homeowner Exemption. I affirm by signature that this property was occupied by its current or previous owner as a principal residence as of January 1, 2009. I understand that it is against the law to provide false information on this Homeowner Exemption application.”
And if you look at the Recorder of Deeds site for Miller’s property, it appears that the Representative took title in 2006; so the above January 1st, 2009 requirement shouldn’t exactly be a problem.
Illinois Representative David E. Miller’s House:
20340 Joy Lane in Lynwood (PIN# 32-13-106-025-0000)
Since the property, pictured above, is also the same property Mr. Miller used in his last 29th District Representative [election] bid, there is no reason for the Representative to pay more in taxes than he otherwise would; unless, of course, he doesn’t want to certify this address [as his primary home] for legal reasons.[1]
The David Jenkins Illinois Reform Commission would like Illinois voters to weigh the important decision in front of them, and ask themselves: “should our next Comptroller be someone who does not apply for a cost-saving tax exemption?”
But there’s more…
Miller’s latest D-2 pre-election report was filed on October 19th, 2010, at 6:58AM. It was due before the close of business [hours] on October 18TH.
According to Miller’s property tax bill history, on file with the Cook County Treasurer’s Office, he and his wife, Donna, have a consistent history of deferring payments on their bills, beyond the installment due dates; resulting in thousands of dollars in interest penalties.
Since many of the state’s banks, and vendors, have payment penalties for disbursements not received on time; this raises serious concerns about whether, as Comptroller, Miller will be able to avoid making costly mistakes with the taxpayers’ money.
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[1] This is also the same address, on file for Mr. Miller’s Comptroller election candidacy, with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
11/15/2010 Update: Letter from Illinois Attorney General Ordering Cook County Treasurer's Office to Comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and Provide Public Records Concerning Rep. Miller...
11/15/2010 Update: Letter from Illinois Attorney General Ordering Cook County Treasurer's Office to Comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and Provide Public Records Concerning Rep. Miller...
