1. Joseph "Joe" Berrios was born on February 14,1952 and is an American Democratic politician who was the Assessor and Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party of Cook County, Illinois, as well as a registered Illinois state government lobbyist.
Joseph Berrios was the first Hispanic American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly and the first and only Hispanic American to chair the Cook County Democratic Party.
Joseph Berrios was a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review, a property tax assessment appeal panel.
Joseph Berrios has been the focus of investigations into allegations of ethics violations and political corruption with respect to campaign fund-raising and nepotism.
Joseph Berrios was defeated in the March 20,2018 Democratic primary election for Cook County Assessor, conceding to Fritz Kaegi.
Joseph Berrios was born on February 14,1952, the oldest of seven children.
At age 13, Joseph Berrios got a job as a dishwasher in the Tower Club, a private restaurant on the 39th floor of the Civic Opera House, worked there for seven years, and eventually become a waiter.
Joseph Berrios graduated from Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago, and received a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Illinois Chicago.
Joseph Berrios first met Keane while a student at the University of Illinois Chicago, Joseph Berrios was ticketed for speeding on the Kennedy Expressway and called on his alderman and committeeman Keane.
Joseph Berrios was one of three candidates who filed nominating petitions to run in the Democratic primary, but Joseph Berrios ran unopposed when the petitions of the other two candidates were successfully challenged.
Republicans fielded no candidate in their primary, so Joseph Berrios ran unopposed in the general election, and at the age of 30 became the first Hispanic American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly.
Joseph Berrios ran for re-election unopposed in the Fall 1986 general election.
Joseph Berrios maintained his job in Chicago as chief clerk of the Cook County Board of Appeals while serving part-time as a legislator in the state capital in downstate Springfield, Illinois.
In March 1987 then former State Senator Edward Nedza, Joseph Berrios' mentor, was indicted in a federal investigation of bribes allegedly paid to city licensing officials.
Joseph Berrios regained the committeeman's post, a role he has held ever since.
Joseph Berrios was the first Hispanic to hold the post, which he held until April 18,2018, following his defeat in the Democratic primary for Cook County Assessor.
Joseph Berrios ran for the vacancy with the backing of the Democratic party organization.
Joseph Berrios ultimately won the special election in November 1988.
Joseph Berrios would be reelected to the Cook County Board of Appeals in 1990 and 1994.
When first elected to the Board of Appeals in 1988, Joseph Berrios was paid about $56,000 a year.
In October 1990, Joseph Berrios added a part-time job as a legislative aide to a political ally, Democratic State Representative Miguel Santiago.
Also while working at the tax appeals board, Joseph Berrios worked as a lobbyist and a consultant to the state government, sometimes in association with his longtime business partner, Sam Panayotovich.
From 1988 to 1993, Panayotovich and Joseph Berrios won a $185,000 no-bid contract as the Illinois Department of Transportation's liaison with lawmakers and municipal officials.
Joseph Berrios was elected to the reconstituted body's 2nd district in that year's inaugural election.
Joseph Berrios continued to serve until 2010, being reelected in 2002,2006, and 2008 After Joseph Berrios resigned to become Cook County Assessor, Michael Cabonargi was appointed as his successor.
Joseph Berrios hired, as a deputy chief commissioner, election law attorney Jaconetty, who wrote the chapter on ballot access in the courseware of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education.
Joseph Berrios responded to criticisms of his hiring of relatives and friends, said,.
Board of Appeals Commissioner Joseph Berrios regularly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in campaign contributions from lawyers who appealed property tax assessments before the Board.
Joseph Berrios collected more than $3 million in political contributions between 2000 and 2010,64 percent from property tax appeal lawyers.
Joseph Berrios started 2008 with $1.2 million in just one of his several campaign funds, much of it from attorneys who appeared before him.
Simultaneously, Joseph Berrios worked as a registered lobbyist to Illinois state government on issues such as legalizing video poker.
Joseph Berrios dropped a challenge to Claypool's nominating petitions after Joseph Berrios' lawyers examined Claypool's 90,000 signatures, 65,000 more than required.
Joseph Berrios prevailed in the November 2010 general election with 46 percent of the vote in a field that included Republican Sharon Strobeck-Eckersall.
Joseph Berrios' attorney objected that the regulation was "illegal", and Joseph Berrios sought an advisory opinion from the Cook County State's Attorney.
Days after taking office, Joseph Berrios hired his son, sister and Jaconetty to work for him, bringing them over from the property tax appeals board.
Joseph Berrios brought over from the property tax appeals board veteran staff member, Felix Cardona Jr.
Patrick Blanchard, the county's Inspector General, and MaryNic Foster, Executive Director of the Cook County Board of Ethics, the County's top two government watchpersons, issued a joint advisory memo to County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, all 17 Cook County commissioners, and nine other elected county officials, including Joseph Berrios, warning them that hiring relatives violated county ethics laws.
On January 28,2011, to comply with County Board President Preckwinkle's request for across-the-board 16 percent budget cuts to help close an estimated $487 million budget shortfall, Joseph Berrios laid off 53 employees, of which 48 were members of unions, but Joseph Berrios' relatives remained on the payroll.
Pikarski's law firm had represented clients before the County Board of Review on which Joseph Berrios served, and had donated thousands of dollars to Joseph Berrios' political campaigns.
Joseph Berrios topped the "Hall of Shame" category in "Chicago's Best and Worst Politicians of 2012" in Chicago Magazine's December, 2012 issue.
Joseph Berrios ignored the subpoena, claiming that the County Inspector General has no authority over him.
Joseph Berrios is represented in the suit by Cook County State's Attorney Alvarez.
Joseph Berrios is a partner with Sam Panayotovich in, and secretary of, a lobbying firm, B-P Consulting, Inc with offices in Springfield and downtown Chicago.
Joseph Berrios is President of an insurance agency, J B Insurance - Consulting Inc with an office in downtown Chicago.
Joseph Berrios is the father of three children, including former Illinois State Representative Maria Antonia "Toni" Berrios.