With a little over two weeks until the Chicago mayoral election, one of the race's front-runners is expressing disappointment over a story that seemed to suggest he didn’t meet the residency requirement or claimed deductions he was not entitled to.
WTTW reported in an exclusive story that Vallas claimed homeowner’s exemptions for a house he and his wife own in Palos Heights and another property in Monee.
Property owners can only seek such a deduction on a primary residence, which the candidate said is actually the apartment in Bridgeport that he moved to more than a year ago.
The report prompted the Cook County Assessor to open an investigation into the deduction.
The Vallas campaign responded to the story, calling it “malicious” and “untrue".
“Paul Vallas has lived in his current home in an apartment on S. Normal Avenue in the City of Chicago since January of 2022, meaning that he clearly, unequivocally meets the one-year residency requirement to run for Mayor and serve in the office. People have seen him there; he is registered to vote there,” campaign counsel Steven Laduzinsky said.
The Chicago Board of Elections said it has no investigative role in determining the residency of candidates already on the ballot.
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The time to raise such challenges is when petitions are submitted to the board. According to spokesman Max Bever, no such challenges were made and Vallas’ name is now printed on the ballot as a candidate for Mayor of Chicago.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the Assessor's office said it had concluded its investigation into a “possible erroneous exemption” on the Palos Heights property which is owned by a trust that lists Sharon Vallas as the recipient of the exemption.
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“Our office’s investigation determined the property is eligible for the exemptions it receives and that Ms. Vallas is a primary resident at the home,” it said.
The Vallas campaign noted that the investigation was closed less than 24 hours after it was opened and said it was disappointed that the story was reported before due diligence could be done.
“We expect to see more false and misleading attacks from the other candidates in the race. We will remain focused on the real issues that are important to Chicagoans,” the statement said.
