By Alexandra Kukulka | Post-Tribune
January 18, 2025
State Sen. Dan Dernulc filed a bill that would require county property tax assessment boards of appeal members to live in Indiana to address the controversy surrounding a Lake County tax board member who lives in Illinois.
Senate Bill 187 states the term of anyone serving on a county property tax assessment board of appeals who isn’t an Indiana resident will expire July 1. The fiscal body, which is the council in Lake County, would then be required to appoint a new member to finish out the member’s term.
The bill maintains Indiana’s current PTABOA law that states a member has to be at least 18 years old and be “knowledgeable in the valuation of property.”
Dernulc, R-Highland, said he drafted the bill after learning about Lake County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals member Samantha Steele, who is also a Cook County Board of Review commissioner and was arrested for driving under the influence in Chicago late last year.
Steele was arrested on a DUI charge before 9 p.m. Nov. 10 near Ashland and Winnemac avenues in Chicago. During her arrest, she repeatedly told police officers she was an elected official, made crude comments about one of the arresting officers, and refused to cooperate with officer requests, public records released to the Chicago Tribune show.
“I really firmly believe that people in Indiana should serve on this board,” Dernulc said. “I think going forward this is what we need to do. We need to make sure that we have people who are Hoosier-centric.”