The details of a bribery case that came to light more than a year ago and spurred a costly internal investigation has finally been made public: Danilo Barjaktarevic, a deputy at the Cook County Board of Review, pleaded guilty Friday to a bribery charge and faces up to 2 ½ years in prison.
According to a plea agreement, Barjaktarevic — a deputy at the BOR responsible for helping property owners appeal their real estate tax valuations — agreed in January 2021 to help lower assessments for more than two dozen properties for an associate of an unnamed person referred to as “CS-1.”
Advertisement
Unbeknownst to Barjaktarevic, CS-1 was a confidential source operating at the direction of the FBI, according to the plea. Barjaktarevic told the source he would accept $2,000 to lower assessments for each commercial property, while he would charge $1,000 for each residential property, for a total cost to CS-1 of $43,000, the legal document states. Half was due upfront, which the plea said was paid around Jan. 7.
Barjaktarevic updated CS-1 on the appeals process during that first cash drop and then again via email in May, detailing “whether and the extent to which a property’s assessment had been lowered,” according to the agreement.
Advertisement
The two met again on July 1, where Barjaktarevic received the second payment of $22,000, authorities said in the agreement.
The plea suggests no other BOR employees were involved. “Barjaktaveric falsely told CS-1 that other employees at the CCBOR would assist,” the plea reads.
Afternoon Briefing
Daily
Chicago Tribune editors’ top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon.
The agreement, entered before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, calls for Barjaktarevic to repay $21,000 he received as part of the first bribe. Sentencing is set for Dec. 13. Preliminary sentencing guidelines call for 2 to 2½ years in prison, according to the plea.
Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.
The Sun-Times first reported the FBI was investigating an unnamed employee at the county’s Board of Review last July, citing a 45-page affidavit that was temporarily unsealed. The affidavit quoted the employee, who claimed to be a “middle guy” splitting the bribes with others in the office, the Sun-Times reported.
Following the report, the Board of Review put that employee on paid leave, the Sun-Times reported and pledged to independently investigate the incident. The Board of Review signed an emergency contract with the law firm Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila worth $110,000 to conduct an internal investigation of the incident.
That contract was set to expire in early March, but was extended — at a cost of $40,000 — and scheduled again to conclude on Sep. 6. Among their responsibilities, according to the contract: interview BOR employees about the allegations and the board’s security processes, review documents, draft a presentation and a comprehensive written report outlining the findings of the investigation, and represent the board in communications with federal authorities relating to the allegations.
It has not yet been publicly released, nor has a secretary for the Board of Review responded to a request for comment on the plea agreement or the report.
Advertisement
It was not the first ethics stumble to crop up at the board in recent years: Commissioner Tammy Wendt, who was defeated in the June primary, was found in violation of ethics rules for hiring her first cousin as a top staffer. He was eventually fired. Board members have also been dinged by ethics officials for taking excess campaign donations from people seeking assessment reductions. And the county’s watchdog has also chastised board members for repeatedly recruiting employees based on their personal and political connections, and pressured employees into doing political work.
