North Shore homeowners will find the Cook County assessor's race on their ballots Tuesday, Nov. 3, a contest that will determine who sets the property values behind every tax bill in Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe and Northfield.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Suburban Cook County voters must cast ballots at their assigned precinct. Residents can look up their polling place using the Cook County Clerk's Your Voter Information tool.

Who's on the ballot

Two candidates are running for assessor.

Pat Hynes, the Democratic nominee, is the Lyons Township assessor. He spent 23 years as a field inspector in the Cook County assessor's office, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Hynes defeated incumbent Fritz Kaegi in the March 17 Democratic primary. He is also a volunteer firefighter and EMT for the Western Springs Fire Department, CBS News Chicago reported.

Nico Tsatsoulis is the Libertarian candidate. He ran for the same office in 2022, finishing a distant second to Kaegi, and ran for Cook County Board of Review commissioner in 2024, according to CBS News Chicago. Tsatsoulis has said he works in finance, retail and wholesale, and real estate.

No Republican is running. Democrats are heavily favored in Cook County races, according to the Chicago Tribune.

What the assessor does

The assessor's office appraises every piece of real estate in Cook County to determine its fair value, which helps set each owner's share of the county's tax burden, according to CBS News Chicago. The office reassesses one-third of the county's properties each year, meaning individual tax bills can shift significantly on a three-year cycle.

The office is responsible for valuing the county's 1.8 million properties, according to the Tribune's primary coverage.

What the candidates say

Hynes told supporters on primary night that he would focus on accuracy and equity. He said the assessor's office "plays a critical role in people's lives" and that "property taxes determine whether families can stay in their homes, whether small businesses can keep their doors open, and whether communities can thrive," the Sun-Times reported.

Tsatsoulis wants to cap property taxes at a percentage of a home's purchase price. He told WGN's The Point that "the way things work today is that the tax levy has nothing to do with the actual value of the properties." His proposal would require changes to state law, CBS News Chicago reported.

North Shore ballot questions

Northfield Township voters will also see three advisory referendum questions, according to Fox 32 Chicago: whether the township food pantry should explore providing pre-packaged meals, whether the township should explore garbage collection for unincorporated areas, and whether the township's Road District should be abolished and its duties assumed by the township government.

Results

Official election results for suburban Cook County will be posted after polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Cook County Clerk's results website. No results are available before then.