The new River Forest Township Assessor doesn’t live in River Forest. But she is familiar with it having served as Deputy Township Assessor since 2018.
On July 14 the River Forest Township Board voted unanimously to appoint Kathy Elliott to replace former township assessor Pam Kende who retired on June 29 after serving as township assessor for the past 21 years.
Because she does not reside in River Forest Elliott will officially work as an independent contractor and be paid $36 an hour while working no more than 1,000 hours annually. Elliott’s contract runs through 2029. The township assessor is an elected office so if a River Forest resident runs for township assessor in the 2029 election the person elected would replace Elliott. But Elliott, who lives in Berwyn, is considering moving to River Forest. Her daughter is a rising eighth grader who attends Alcuin Montessori School in Oak Park.
“Our goal was always to move from Berwyn to River Forest for high school,” Elliott said in a telephone interview last week.
But now that her daughter has her heart set on going to Trinity, not OPRF, for high school that may change although Elliott, 55, says that she still would like to move to River Forest and may do so by 2029.
“It’s such a great community to age in place,” Elliott said.
Township assessors in Cook County don’t actually assess property, that is done by the Cook County Assessor’s office, but mostly serves as taxpayer advocates and educators.
“We are here to help people file for exemptions, to help them come up with the best possible appeals, help them know what their chances are for a successful appeal,” Elliott said.
Elliott has hired Miranda Redfield to be the new Deputy Assessor. Redfield will also work as an independent contractor and be paid $26 an hour and work no more than 520 hours annually.
“Her daughter and my daughter have known each other since they were one,” Elliott said.
Elliott said she hopes to expand the hours that the assessor’s office, which is located at the River Forest Civic Center, is open. Currently the office is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“The major change is that we will be open more,” Elliott said. “We have every intention of having hours Monday through Thursday, but we will work with the new supervisor whoever that will be.”
Elliott said she plans to encourage people who have issues with their property taxes or questions to make appointments to visit the office. She plans to reach out to new homeowners to educate them about the complicated Cook County property tax system.
“I want to have outreaches and workshops for new homeowners,” Elliott said.
She is also thinking about using social media to reach out to property owners to let them know about the services the township assessor can provide.
“We are really working to modernize the office,” Elliott said.
Elliott said she learned a lot from Kende, especially about River Forest and the nuances of the homes in River Forest.
Elliott has worked a lot of different jobs in her life. When she was young she worked as a draftsman, mostly working in engineering offices. Then she worked as a trainer and manager for Starbucks specializing in opening new stores. She also worked as an executive assistant for Hewitt Associates, a large HR consulting firm. Elliott became River Forest Township Deputy Assessor in 2018. She applied for the very part-time job, six to 10 hours a week, because she knew the former deputy assessor Myra Cummings-Hill who told her that she was leaving the position.
Elliott has been a licensed massage therapist since 2004. At one time she gave massages at the Fitness Formula Club on Lake Street in Oak Park. She still does some contract massage work and is open to private clients.
“I think I am the only certified Illinois assessing officer and licensed massage therapist,” Elliott said.
She sees some similarities between massage and the work of the township assessor.
“It’s the same mindset, to be able to calmly walk through pain, be it metaphorical or physical, and try to seek solutions together,” Elliott said.