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On Thursday, August 6, Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan announced her would not seek re-election. See Sun-Times (Abdon M. Pallasch). Josesph Berrios, chairman of the Cook County Dems and one of the three commissioners of the Board of Review, is expected to be a candidate. Houlihan has feuded with Berrios and is not expected to support his candidacy. One possible candidate for Cook County Assessor is the Oak Park Township Assessor Ali ElSaffar. ElSaffar has innovated by using software to allow Oak Park Township to more efficiently prepare property tax appeals. ElSaffar is the president of the association of Cook County township assessors. This Wednesday Journal (Drew Carter) covers most of the basics of ElSaffar's professional and personal life. * He's a lawyer, U of Iowa, '91 * He owns a business that manages properties and does some legal work * His father emigrated from Iraq and taught physics at DePaul. * His mother was a professor of Spanish literature, originally from El Paso, Texas. * ElSaffar speaks Spanish fluently; he's studied Arabic at DePaul. * When the Berwyn assessor died ElSaffar served as both the assessor in Oak Park and in Berwyn. He continues to coordinate and assist both the Berwyn and River Forest assessors in implementing practices developed in Oak Park.
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