A former top official on the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board has sued the Chicago Sun-Times for defamation for reports published in 2020 of an anonymous complaint against him when agency staff pondered whether President Donald Trump should issue a refund of more than US $ 1 million – Dollars should be granted property taxes on his Chicago Tower.
Mauro Glorioso alleged investigative reporter Tim Novak’s stories defamed him and misrepresented the nature of the complaint about the handling of the Trump case. Glorioso worked for the agency for almost 20 years, first as an administrative judge, then as a board member and finally as managing director and general counsel.
In October, Governor JB Pritzker removed him from the agency amid an investigation and concern over a backlog of cases. The PTAB can override the decisions of the district officials on the assessment of property tax and possibly reduce the tax burden on the owners.
Mauro GloriosoIllinois Board of Appeal for Property Tax
Glorioso’s lawsuit, filed in the Cook County Circuit Court on Jan. 5, names Sun-Times Media Holdings and Novak as defendants.
Steve Warmbir, interim editor-in-chief, said, “The Sun-Times represents the accuracy of the stories.”
The lawsuit stated that, contrary to the articles, “the anonymous complaint did not include an allegation that Glorioso ordered that a legal decision on the Trump Tower property tax appeal was based on political motivations rather than the merits of the case being driven “. The lawsuit also stated that the denial of the Trump Tower appeal by a hearing officer was written in January 2018 when Glorioso was chairman of PTAB’s five-member board, not the executive director, and with no direct authority over the agency’s staff.
The Sun-Times reported that Trump’s case was repeatedly placed on the agenda of the agency’s board of directors only to be postponed.
Trump’s appeal regarding his building at 401 N. Wabash Ave. was edited by the Ald law firm. Edward Burke, 14, currently on charges of using his public position to conduct legal business.