PARK RIDGE, IL, October 21, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Michael Piper has been recognized for achievement in government relations.

Mr. Piper currently serves as a deputy assessor and Chief Valuations Officer at the Cook County Assessor's Office in Chicago, a position he has held since 2022. In this capacity, Mr. Piper oversees the assessment and reassessment of more than 1.8 million parcels under a triennial system, manages township-by-township reassessment operations across all 30 townships in Cook County, and reviews quality-control checks on assessment figures with directors before finalizing numbers with the assessor. His responsibilities also include overseeing valuation across a diverse range of property types, such as residential, condominium, commercial, retail, nursing home, multifamily and high-value special properties, including office buildings, arenas, stadiums and movie theaters. Additionally, Mr. Piper coordinates the mailing of reassessment notices to property owners.

Before his most recent positions, Mr. Piper began as the Director of Special Properties at the Cook County Assessor's Office. In this capacity since 2020, he continues to provide specialized oversight for complex property types and supports strategic initiatives within the department. That same year, Mr. Piper served as the Manager of Special Properties, strengthening his expertise in property tax assessment and valuation as well as government assessment administration before earning a promotion.

Mr. Piper's tenure in Illinois was preceded by his role as a Chief Assessment Officer for the City of Philadelphia from 2014 to 2020. During this period, he played a pivotal role in promoting greater transparency and reducing political influence in property assessments. He was instrumental in shifting a larger portion of the tax burden from residential to commercial property owners, making the system more equitable. Mr. Piper also established mandatory professional certification requirements for assessment staff by championing the Certified Pennsylvania Evaluator designation and enhancing access to professional education across departments.

For more than 20 years, Mr. Piper served as an assessment administrator and deputy chief assessment officer in the Office of Property Assessment for the City of Philadelphia between 1991 and 2014. Over nearly three decades with the office, he developed deep expertise in all aspects of property valuation and administration.

Mr. Piper's entry into his profession began as an adult student at Temple University after initially leaving high school in the 1970s to pursue music professionally. To support his education, he worked part-time in real estate sales in Pennsylvania before embarking on a long and established career with the Philadelphia Assessor's Office that culminated in serving as the city assessor for five years. Mr. Piper's move to Cook County was influenced by meeting his future spouse, an attorney based in Chicago, at a conference in Seattle.

Mr. Piper's educational background includes a Bachelor of Business Administration in real estate, legal studies and marketing from Temple University in Philadelphia, earned in 1999, followed by a Master of Business Administration in management information systems in 2003. These academic achievements provided him with a strong foundation for his roles in public service and property assessment.

In addition to his formal education, Mr. Piper holds several professional certifications that have contributed to his success. He became an assessment administration specialist through the International Association of Assessing Officers in 2011 and earned the Certified Illinois Assessment Officer credential from the Illinois Property Assessment Institute in 2024. Mr. Piper's belief in the importance of property assessment work, particularly its role in funding public services such as schools, has been central to his approach throughout his career.

Throughout his career, Mr. Piper has been recognized for his leadership and commitment to professional standards. He is a member of several industry-related organizations, including the International Association of Assessing Officers and the Illinois Property Assessment Institute. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Mr. Piper is active civically as a volunteer at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago, where he participates regularly in church events. Additionally, he remains passionate about music performance and performs professionally in Chicago alongside his public service career.

Mr. Piper's dedication has been acknowledged along with the Cook County Assessor's Officer by five Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties for his work with the Cook County Assessor's Department. Looking ahead, he is transitioning into consulting or taking on a smaller county position within Illinois rather than full retirement. Mr. Piper is actively pursuing an Illinois broker's license for part-time real estate brokerage work based on prior experience from Pennsylvania and aims to expand his musical pursuits as he reduces his overall pace professionally.

Mr. Piper maintains an interest in emerging property types such as quantum computing facilities and is scheduled to present on their valuation at an upcoming International Association of Assessing Officers annual conference in Calgary, reflecting his ongoing commitment to innovation within his field.

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