Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi concedes to challenger Pat Hynes

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi conceded to challenger Pat Hynes on Tuesday night.

Hynes' children came out and introduced him when he took the stage in an electric room. He told his supporters he is committed to making property taxes more accurate and equitable, and transparent.

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The two Democrats traded blows throughout their campaigns.

"We have worked from the top of this county to the bottom of this county, just like I've done my entire career. We left no stone unturned," Hynes said.

As the current Lyons Township assessor, Hynes has spent 20 years as an appraiser for the Cook County Assessor's Office. Hynes blames incumbent Kaegi for skyrocketing property tax bills on the South and West sides of Chicago.

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Running for what would have been his third term, Kaegi blasted Hynes for taking donations from property tax attorneys.

"Bills went up because people were getting big cuts on commercial properties at the Cook County Board of Review, and my opponent has been defending those and making excuses for them, because he's in the tank for those people who benefit from that work," Kaegi said.

Hynes is expected to become the next Cook County assessor, because there are no Republicans running for the position.

Kaegi released a statement on Tuesday night, saying, "Tonight wasn't the result we were hoping for. I want to congratulate Pat Hynes on his victory. I hope he protects the reforms we've put in place.

I am so proud of what we accomplished together. We cleaned up decades of pay-to-play corruption. We banned donations from property tax attorneys. We brought in real data scientists and put our models online. We made assessments fairer and saved working class homeowners $2 billion compared to what they would have paid under the old system. We got tax relief to a record number of seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities and made their exemptions automatically renew.

We made this office operate on fairness, not favoritism. That fight doesn't end tonight. It's bigger than one office and bigger than any one person.

It has been the honor of my life to do what I could for the best people in the best city and the best county in the world. Thank you for your support and for putting your trust in me."

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