Fritz Kaegi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kaegi in 2025 | |
| 10thAssessor of Cook County | |
| Assumed office December 3, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Berrios |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 1971 (age 53) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Rebecca |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Haverford College (BA) Stanford University (MBA) |
Fredrick "Fritz" Kaegi is an American politician who has served asCook County assessor since 2018.
Kaegi was born in November 1971 inChicago, the son of Louise andUniversity of ChicagoByzantine Empire historianWalter Kaegi.[1][2][3] He grew up in theHyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.[2]
He graduated fromHaverford College and went on to get hisMaster of Business Administration fromStanford University.[2]
For more than twenty years, Kaegi worked as anasset manager.[4][2] This included 13 years spent working at Columbia Wagner Asset Management.[2]
Kaegi holds the designations of Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Illinois Assessment Officer.[2] He also is a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers.[2]
A first-time candidate for public office, Kaegi ran forCook County assessor in2018.[1] He largely self-financed his campaign.[4][5] Kaegi ran as a reformer under the slogan, "No favoritism, just fairness."[6] In the Democraticprimary, he defeated embattled incumbentJoseph Berrios. Kaegi originally had appeared to have successfully challenged the ballot petitions of Andrea Raila, kicking her out of the race, thus making the primary a one-on-one race between Kaegi and Berrios.[4] However, Raila still appeared on ballots, as they had already been printed, but no votes were cast for her would be counted.[5] However, after a lawsuit, judges made it so that Raila would be allowed to run, making it a three-person race once again.[7] Berrios was the powerful chairman of theCook County Democratic Party.[5][8] During the primary election, Kaegi received the endorsements of theChicago Sun-Times,Chicago Tribune, andDaily Herald, as well as politicians such asDanny Davis,Bill Foster,Robin Kelly,Mike Quigley,Bobby Rush, andJan Schakowsky.[5] TheChicago Tribune described his victory against Berrios as a "rare topping of themachine."[9] After defeating Berrios to be the Democratic nominee, Kaegi won the general election against Republican Joseph Paglia.
As assessor, Kaegi began the process of reassessing all of the county's properties, to be done over a three-year period.[6] Kaegi reassessments have been seen as shifting the tax burden from residential to commercial properties.[10] His predecessor, Berrios, had undervalued many commercial properties.[11][12] Kaegi has received pushback from localities for the increased value assessments he has given to many commercial properties, as localities worry that if commercial property owners successfully appeal to theCook County Board of Review, there is a risk that local tax bodies will need to give tax refunds to the ownership properties in question.[13]
Amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, Kaegi moved to reduce the tax burden on most commercial and residential properties, to account for the pandemic's impact.[14]
Kaegi lives inOak Park,Illinois.[1] He and his wife, Rebecca, have three children.[1][2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frederick "Fritz" Kaegi | 327,769 | 45.53 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Berrios (incumbent) | 243,425 | 33.81 | |
| Democratic | Andrea A. Raila | 147,224 | 20.45 | |
| Write-in | Others | 1,481 | 0.21 | |
| Total votes | 719,899 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frederick "Fritz" Kaegi | 1,272,651 | 76.19 | |
| Republican | Joseph Paglia | 397,741 | 23.81 | |
| Total votes | 1,670,392 | 100 | ||