For ten great years I have had the distinct privilege of serving the people of Cook County as a commissioner at the Board of Review. During that time, the Board has made meaningful progress in improving services for taxpayers. I came into office with a list of ideas on how to improve efficiency, accessibility and transparency. Most of the ideas on that list and many more are now a reality.

I have delayed making this statement while I made repeated written and oral requests for the Cook County Clerk to reconcile the nearly 75,000 discrepancy between the ballots counted post-election versus the number of ballots the Clerk’s own records say should exist. While I am not suggesting that any irregularities have occurred, their failure to do so much as respond to my requests gives me little confidence that they executed their duties with precision. This failure in transparency is regrettable because it affects the public perception of the competence of our election apparatus. Hopefully, the Clerk’s office will offer, and soon, a full accounting of their actions.

My goal from the beginning was to serve the public by executing my duties with integrity and I leave office with hope that the people of Cook County believe I have achieved that goal. Members of my staff, both current and past deserve much credit for helping to make our ten year stay a success and I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication. There are many throughout the county who volunteered, contributed and provided their support without whom I would not have been elected and re-elected. I will always be grateful for their help.

I wish the very best for Tammy Wendt as she assumes the duties of commissioner of the first district. I have spoken to her to offer my congratulations and offered my cooperation as she transitions into the office. She will find as I did, it is not always an easy job but it can be rewarding.

Thank you to every property owner, taxpayer and citizen for allowing me to serve you.

Dan Patlak