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GOP Criticizes Dem Pritzker For Property Tax Reduction

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Illinois Republican Party is criticizing Democratic candidate for governor, J.B. Pritzker, for claiming a property tax break they say he does not deserve.

Former state Republican chairman, Pat Brady, stood outside a mansion on North Aster Place saying Pritzker is taking nearly a quarter million dollars in tax breaks for a property the billionaire bought next to his multimillion-dollar home.

Brady said Pritzker did it by having the smaller home declared uninhabitable, which is being reported by the Sun Times.

"In this whole campaign, he says it's big ideas and big talk, and I think it's a big con job," Brady said. "And I do think it's rigged. Do you really think this property is uninhabitable? Do you think I couldn't walk in there and make a case that this property's habitable. I bet you I could."

A spokeswoman for Pritzker says he, like 50,000 other property owners, including Gov. Bruce Rauner, appealed his property tax assessment. And she notes Rauner appealed for his Randolph Street penthouse, a condo and three parking spots.

A Rauner spokesperson says a homeowners association appealed the taxes for the governor's downtown Chicago condo. Rauner has never sought any tax concessions on the eight other homes he owns, the spokesperson says.

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