Property tax equity is the goal for McHugh

Linnea McHugh knows that spearheading change in government is a slow process, but she’s up for the task.

McHugh is the chief policy officer for the Cook County Board of Review’s District 2, playing a key role in shaping policies that improve transparency, efficiency and equity in property tax assessment appeals and ensure fair property valuations across Cook County.

“I was brought on to help address the  consistent communication issues which exist between the factions of government that oversee the property tax system to become more manageable  and successful through interoffice relations, to make sure that the Cook County District 2  Board of Review is being represented to all policy makers throughout city, county and statewide government, and to make sure that statewide legislation, and local policy is working on behalf of the taxpayer,” she explains.

Progress has been slow, but that’s to be expected, she says.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is good policy,” she says. “Stakeholders from every corner need to weigh in. Participation from all the affected bodies is critical to good policy overall.”

McHugh was honored in 2025 with an Impresa Award from the Women’s Division of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans.

A single mom for 16 years, she is a resident of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, and has two children, Jacqueline and Jon Johanson.

Born Mazzarella (her parents are both of Italian descent), she took the name McHugh after being adopted by her stepfather at age 5.

Linnea grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago, surrounded by Italian friends whose families were a big part in her experiencing the culture before she reconnected with her biological father as a teenager.

She attended Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota.

She worked in sales, fundraising and real estate and eventually ran a general contracting and design firm. In 2019, she and her friend Edward Howlett launched McHugh and Howlett Public Affairs, which assists small and mid-sized businesses with government navigation and advocacy.

One of her current initiatives as chief policy officer for the Cook County Board of Review’s District 2, she says, is working with local alderpersons, commissioners, township supervisors and mayors to ensure the most disadvantaged homeowners have proper representation and appeal their taxes.

“Otherwise, the financial burdens of the county will inevitably fall back on them,” she says. “We know that regressivity (when less expensive homes are assessed at a higher percentage of their market value than more expensive homes) is an issue at large with property taxes, so we have done studies throughout the District to target the different factions of the population who should be appealing, and are providing avenues for them to do that fairly.”

McHugh has a deep passion for water that comes from her stepfather, an avid boater. She then learned to sail from a boyfriend, competing with him in the Tri-State Race (a race from Chicago to St. Joseph, Michigan, then to Michigan City, Indiana and back to Chicago).

Sailing is much like flying, she says.

“Cutting through the water on a sailboat with only the wind propelling you is an experience everyone should have,” she says. “It is a magical feeling, just to hear the sound of water rushing over the boat’s bow and then just the silence.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, McHugh became a captain in the U.S. Coast Guard as a Master Merchant Marine. She can captain and charter vessels both domestically and abroad.

For a time, she chartered Tiki boats, sailboats and “any boats I could get my hands on.” Nowadays, she only captains when she is familiar with the boat or the people in it, she says.

“The crazy amount of drug use and alcohol on board any and all boats these days is simply dangerous,” she says. “As a mother and a captain, I want to make sure people on my vessels have a great time, but also live to tell about it to others!”

Her vision for her retirement includes the prospect of captaining boats in and around Italy, Greece and southern Europe.

“It’s truly beautiful wherever there are boats and water, so we shall see where I end up,” she says. “If we let it, life can take us places we never imagined we would be. And I for one am looking forward to that journey!”