Cook County Treasurer's Office
David Byrnes has a diverse work experience spanning over two decades. David started their career as Deputy Finance Director and later served as Chief Compliance Officer at Citizens for Ron Klink. Following this, they worked as an Associate at O'Brien, Klink & Associates. David then joined Bucephalus, LLC as a Client Director. Moving forward, David served as the Campaign Manager for Maria Pappas for U.S. Senate. David gained extensive experience at the Cook County Treasurer's Office, where they held various roles including Refund Department Supervisor, Deputy Director of Operations, Director of Human Resources/Budget, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Information Officer, and currently, they serve as the Chief of Staff/Chief Deputy Treasurer.
David Byrnes completed their Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Government from the University of Dayton. David attended this university from 1994 to 1998. Additionally, in 2007, they obtained a Certificate in Human Resources Management from George Washington University.
Cook County Treasurer's Office
Maria Pappas has served as Cook County Treasurer since 1998. She has led the Treasurer’s Office through a series of transformative technological, automation and modernization advancements. Treasurer Pappas oversees the second-largest property tax collection and distribution system in the United States. She is responsible for printing and mailing bills to owners of more than 1.8 million parcels, collecting more than $17 billion in taxes and distributing those funds to more than 2,200 local units of government. During her tenure she has reduced staff from 250 employees in 1998 to 59 employees in 2023. She introduced online payments, established payment facilities at numerous banks across Cook County, and developed a system to identify and refund overpayments to taxpayers without extensive paperwork. Pappas has been a champion of transparency, introducing the Debt Disclosure Ordinance to provide taxpayers with detailed information about local government spending. She has conducted outreach to ethnic homeowners, returning millions in refunds through her Black and Latino Houses Matter programs. Pappas has helped countries like China and Greece with property tax systems and automation. She has spoken at international forums, including the Organization of American States and the Cities Summit of the Americas. Pappas was born in 1949 and hails from Warwood, West Virginia. She has earned degrees in sociology from West Liberty State College, guidance and counseling from West Virginia University; a doctorate in counseling and psychology from Loyola University of Chicago; and a law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Her public service began with a grant from the Illinois Attorney General's Office, where she worked at Chicago's Altgeld Gardens public housing project. Her work in youth drug prevention led her to prisons and jails and eventually to law school. She served as a Cook County Commissioner from 1990 to 1998.