Joseph "Joe" Berrios (born February 14, 1952) is a Democratic politician who was the Assessor and Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party of Cook County, Illinois, as well as a registered Illinois state government lobbyist.
He was the first Hispanic American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly and the first and only Hispanic American to chair the Cook County Democratic Party.
He was a Commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review, a property tax assessment appeal panel.
He was also a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review, a property tax assessment appeal panel.
Throughout his career, Berrios combined government sector jobs, elected office, unpaid political party leadership positions, and private-sector proprietorships in lobbying, consulting and insurance sales.
His political campaign strategies included ballot access challenges to potential opponents.
He has been the focus of investigations into allegations of ethics violations and political corruption with respect to campaign fund-raising and nepotism.
In the press and in the courts, Berrios has repeatedly defended his right as an elected official to hire relatives and to accept campaign contributions from those with business with his office.
Berrios was defeated in the March 20, 2018 Democratic primary election for Cook County Assessor, conceding to Fritz Kaegi.