Fritz Kaegi
Fritz Kaegi (Democratic Party) is the Cook County Assessor in Illinois. He assumed office in 2019. His current term ends on December 7, 2026.
Kaegi (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for Cook County Assessor in Illinois. He is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 17, 2026.[source]
Kaegi completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Frederick Kaegi was born in Chicago, Illinois, and lives in Oak Park, Illinois. He graduated from Kenwood High School. He earned an undergraduate degree from Haverford College and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. Kaegi’s career experience includes working as a financial manager at Columbia Wanger Asset Management.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2026)
General election
The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary for Cook County Assessor
Incumbent Fritz Kaegi (D) and Pat Hynes (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Cook County Assessor on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Fritz Kaegi  | |
 | Pat Hynes | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for March 17, 2026, was canceled.
Libertarian Party primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Libertarian primary for Cook County Assessor
Nico Tsatsoulis (L) is running in the Libertarian Party primary for Cook County Assessor on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Nico Tsatsoulis | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Kaegi received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Kaegi's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D)
- U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D)
- Dick Durbin (D) -
- Bill Foster (D) -
- Jesus Garcia (D) -
- Jonathan Jackson (D) -
- Robin Kelly (D) -
- U.S. Rep Delia Ramirez (D)
- Jan Schakowsky (D) -
- Brad Schneider (D) -
- Mark Walker (D) -
- Fred Crespo (D) -
- William Davis (D) -
- Robyn Gabel (D) -
- Theresa Mah (D) -
- 40th Ward Democrats
- Citizens Action Illinois
- Lincoln Square, Ill., Indivisible
- Northside Democracy for America
2022
See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2022)
General election
General election for Cook County Assessor
Incumbent Fritz Kaegi defeated Nico Tsatsoulis and Clifton Graham Jr. in the general election for Cook County Assessor on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Fritz Kaegi (D) | 82.3 | 1,063,188 |
| Nico Tsatsoulis (L) | 17.7 | 228,425 | |
| Clifton Graham Jr. (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 65 | ||
| Total votes: 1,291,678 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Cook County Assessor
Incumbent Fritz Kaegi defeated Kari Steele in the Democratic primary for Cook County Assessor on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Fritz Kaegi | 53.8 | 258,848 |
| Kari Steele | 46.2 | 222,371 | ||
| Total votes: 481,219 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Cook County Assessor
Nico Tsatsoulis advanced from the Libertarian primary for Cook County Assessor on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Nico Tsatsoulis | 100.0 | 1,931 |
| Total votes: 1,931 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Cook County Assessor
Fritz Kaegi defeated Joseph Paglia in the general election for Cook County Assessor on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Fritz Kaegi (D) | 76.2 | 1,272,651 |
| Joseph Paglia (R) | 23.8 | 397,741 | ||
| Total votes: 1,670,392 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Cook County Assessor
Fritz Kaegi defeated incumbent Joseph Berrios and Andrea Raila in the Democratic primary for Cook County Assessor on March 20, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Fritz Kaegi | 45.6 | 327,769 |
| Joseph Berrios | 33.9 | 243,425 | ||
 | Andrea Raila | 20.5 | 147,224 | |
| Total votes: 718,418 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Fritz Kaegi completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kaegi's responses.
| Collapse all
- Making corporations pay their fair share by reforming commercial property assessments so homeowners don’t get stuck paying more than they should. Right now, corporations hire politically connected property tax lawyers to help them win excessive tax cuts from the Board of Review. These cuts to commercial properties (e.g. hotels, data centers, mixed-use) shifted $500 million onto homeowners, driving up the average tax bill by $700, with many paying more.
- Protecting homeowners from property tax spikes with “Circuit Breaker” legislation that delivers tax relief to families who need it most. Fritz is championing legislation (SB1978/HB 3808) in Springfield that would protect homeowners if taxes spike over 25%, giving them immediate property tax relief.
- Bringing more property tax relief to seniors by expanding the Senior Freeze exemption and making it automatically renew for those who qualify. This would allow more seniors to get the benefits they’re entitled to without having to come into the office
That experience drives my work now. It got me to look into the housing and property tax systems in Cook County and I realized the whole system was run on pay-to-play corruption. I ran for Assessor to fix that, and now I’m fighting for more property tax relief and to make corporations pay their fair share so families can stay in their homes.
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin
U.S. Congressional Representatives
Rep. Danny Davis
Rep. Bill Foster
Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García
Rep. Jonathan Jackson
Rep. Robin Kelly
Rep. Delia Ramirez
Rep. Brad Schneider
Organizations
Equality Illinois
Indivisible Lincoln Square
Northside Democracy for America
40th Ward Democrats
45th Ward Democrats
Citizen Action/Illinois
IVI-IPO
Northfield Dems
Wheeling Dems
Labor
Cook County College Teachers Union IFT AFT Local 1600
AFSCME Council 31
Local 881 UFCW
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Kaegi's campaign website stated the following:
I’ve called Cook County home all my life.
I grew up in Hyde Park. My family was my political north star. My grandmother worked for FDR, and my mom organized with Harold Washington.
They showed me what it looks like to dedicate your life to service.
That’s why I first ran for Assessor in 2018, and the principle of service guides my work every single day.
I work for you, the people of Cook County — not big developers, not big corporations, and certainly not the political machine.
For seven years, I’ve delivered for Cook County.
- I cleaned up decades of pay-to-play corruption in the Assessor’s office.
- I made sure mansions and luxury homes are paying their fair share.
- I helped create thousands of units of affordable housing for Cook County
- And I’m working every single day to make sure big commercial properties pay what they should.
Look, families need relief right now so they can stay in their homes.
That’s why I’m fighting for more property tax relief for families who need it:
- I’m pushing for “Circuit Breaker” legislation to protect homeowners when property taxes spike, like they did just this year.
- I’m working to expand the Senior Freeze and make it automatically renew so more seniors can stay in their homes.
- And I’m fighting for a more affordable Cook County, where corporations and developers are paying their fair share and pay-to-play corruption at the hands of special interests no longer occurs
This fight won’t be easy. The same special interests that profited from the old pay-to-play system want it back.
I’ve never taken money from property tax attorneys who want to turn back the clock. And I never will.
Because when it comes to who pays, you can count on me to make the system work for working people. This is our fight — and we’re going to win.
— Fritz Kaegi's campaign website (March 5, 2026)
2022
Fritz Kaegi did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
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