Report: Ethics Board Fines Assessor Berrios, Tells Him To Fire Son And Sister
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County Assessor Joeseph Berrios is rejecting accusations about alleged nepotism in his office.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bob Conway reports, shortly after being elected two years ago, Berrios hired his son and his sister as Assessor's office employees. Since then, they have both been promoted and had their salaries increased.
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Now, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Cook County Ethics Board is recommending Berrios' son and sister be fired, and accuses Berrios of violating his duties and the ethics ordinance.
The board also fined Berrios $10,000.
For his part, Berrios tells the Sun-Times he has been told by the Cook County State's Attorney that the board does not have jurisdiction over his office, and says his relatives have and are doing a fine job and that he holds them to a higher standard than other employees.
Both Joey and Carmen Berrios had worked for the assessor in his previous position as a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review.
Berrios later promoted his daughter, Vanessa Berrios, who had been hired by the Assessor's office more than 10 years before her father won the seat, the Sun-Times reported.
Joey Berrios now makes $69,285 a year as head of the land division. Carmen Berrios makes $107,841 as a deputy assessor of taxpayer services, the Sun-Times reports.
Vanessa Berrios is also making about $69,285 a year, the newspaper reports.
