Posted Aug. 13, 2009 at 4:44 AM

http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=7129

By Greg Hinz - Crain's Chicago Business

For those who hoped that the Blagojevich affair and similar scandals might finally prompt a cleanup of Illinois' pay-to-play culture, Monday's announcement that Joe Berrios is running for Cook County assessor ought to be revealing.

What it reveals is that not much has changed.

Mr. Berrios is chairman of the Cook County Regular Democratic Organization, aka the machine. He and his daughter, state Rep. Maria "Toni" Berrios, owe their careers to campaign contributions from the property tax lawyers Mr. Berrios deals with in his day job, as a member of the county's Board of (Property Tax) Review.

The Cook County state's attorney is investigating tax breaks Mr. Berrios reviewed for state Rep. Paul Froehlich, D-Schaumburg, who recently announced that he won't seek a new term.

Amid all of that, Mr. Berrios, who doubles as a part-time Springfield lobbyist, this spring got Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a property tax lawyer, to approve legal video poker, despite concerns that the practice will live up to its reputation as the crack cocaine of the gambling business.

Meet Joe Berrios, the leading candidate for Cook County assessor, now that incumbent Jim Houlihan is retiring. I'm beginning to think it's still 1958.

What's striking about Mr. Berrios, 57, is, frankly, how ordinary he is in the inside world of Chicago politics, how traditional he is.

He's a genuinely nice guy, a son of immigrants who once lived in Cabrini-Green and worked his way up by joining the Humboldt Park-area 31st Ward Regular Democratic Organization.

Like generations of Chicago pols before him, Mr. Berrios keeps a low profile, probably intentionally. When he announced his race for assessor on Monday, he merely sent out a press release and did a few quiet interviews. By the time I called Tuesday morning with a few questions, he was unavailable — at least until next Monday, according to his spokesman. Word has it he's having minor surgery.

After a couple of terms in the Illinois House, Mr. Berrios, an accountant by training, moved to the Board of Review. In the true Chicago tradition — like the Daleys, Strogers, Madigans, Lipinskis and scores of others — he passed on his old job to the kid in 1992. She had no opposition.

On the board, Mr. Berrios was smart enough to keep as his top aide Tom Jaconetty, a pro with a solid reputation. He never has been accused of misconduct. But he also was shrewd enough to start milking the cash cow that is the office. If you're a property tax lawyer, you need the three-member board on your side.

Two years ago, when Assessor Houlihan, whose work the board reviews, put up a candidate against Mr. Berrios, Joe was able to really milk that cow. He pulled in hundreds of thousands of dollars from lawyers appearing before the board, in chunks as large as $17,000 a firm. He won.

The two other commissioners also get big cash from the property tax bar, particularly Larry Rogers. But he still owes himself $536,000 from his 2004 campaign.

In comparison, Mr. Berrios, even after he had to spend big money to hold onto his seat two years ago, still had more than $800,000 in the bank as of June 30. That maybe explains why, at least so far, no one else seems to be moving to challenge Mr. Berrios for an office with enormous power over the size of your property tax bill.

Meanwhile, Rep. Berrios, who failed to return a call seeking comment, appears equally impregnable. A third of the money she raised in the 2007-08 campaign cycle, about $36,000, came from property tax lawyers. Strictly by coincidence, I'm sure.

One other meanwhile: Those video poker machines that Mr. Berrios helped get property tax lawyer Mike Madigan to approve are starting to be rejected big time in suburban areas. But, hey, Mr. Berrios did his part, and certainly earned his lobbying fee.

Friends of Commissioner Berrios may think I'm being a little hard on him. After all, he's just doing what dozens of Chicago pols have done through the years: taking care of business for numero uno.

For a different perspective, I spoke with new Better Government Assn. boss Andy Shaw.

"Joe Berrios is one of the most pleasant politicians in Cook County, but he is pay-to-play personified," says Mr. Shaw. "This is the Chicago way. We can't afford it anymore."

For some strange reason, I'm inclined to agree with Andy on this one. We'll see if any other candidates for assessor come out of the woodwork.