The Cook County Assessor’s Office (Assessor’s Office) received awards from two national organizations for creating a new residential model that contributes to fairly and accurately assessing homes in Cook County. The International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) gave the Assessor’s Office its Distinguished Research and Development Award and The Center for Digital Government presented the office with its County Government Experience Award. “After taking office in 2018, we created a new department with highly qualified data scientists,” said Assessor Fritz Kaegi. “Our new data team developed a new residential valuation model with the goal of restoring fairness and rebuilding public trust. These awards are a testament to those successful efforts.” The Assessor’s Office uses real estate data and property characteristics to power its valuation model which assesses residential properties through a mass appraisal system. Despite popular belief, the Assessor’s Office does not individually assess each residential property in Cook County. Instead, it relies on tens of thousands of data points to ensure its model creates an accurate measure of a property’s value.

Photo Caption: From left to right: Assessor Fritz Kaegi, Senior Data Scientist William Ridgeway, Director of Data Science Daniel Snow, Director of Data Analytics Nicole Jardine, Chief Data Officer Samantha Simpson, IAAO President L. Wade Patterson