Fritz Kaegi

Fritz Kaegi is a progressive Democrat running for Cook County Assessor in the March 2018 primary to bring fairness, transparency and professionalism to our broken property tax system.

Fritz has spent his career valuing assets as a financial manager at Columbia Wanger Asset Management. In 13 years at Columbia Wanger, Fritz served as a financial steward, helping average families save for retirement as well as focusing on global small companies. In addition to being a Chartered Financial Analyst, Fritz also received the Certified Illinois Assessment Officer (CIAO) designation to deepen his understanding of the property tax assessment system. Most recently, Fritz co-managed the firm’s Acorn Fund, a fund that seeks long-term capital appreciation by focusing on uncovering smaller, lesser known companies participating in macroeconomic trends.

A lifelong progressive Democratic activist and donor, Fritz has been a major supporter of grassroots causes and campaigns, including the 2014 minimum wage ballot measure and supporting local organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the ACLU andReconciling Ministries.

Fritz was born and raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago, where his parents have lived for 40 years. He attended Kenwood High, did his undergraduate studies at Haverford College (just outside of Philadelphia), and received his MBA from Stanford University. Fritz’s wife Rebecca is a teacher, and has fought to create the Union of Noble Educators, a union of charter school educators in Chicago.

Fritz and Rebecca live in Oak Park with their three children, William (10), Rose (8), and Anna (6). Fritz is a member of First United Methodist Church of Oak Park, and is an assistant coach in Oak Park Youth Baseball and Softball.