Samantha Steele Hired Key Player in Federal Corruption Probe — Then Fired Him
- Nick Cicero
- Jan 25
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 2
Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele knowingly hired a politically connected aide with a federal criminal record who played a central role in a public corruption probe—then quietly terminated him only after the media began asking questions. As WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos reports, Steele brought Jon Snyder onto her staff despite his guilty plea in a federal case and his cooperation with the FBI to convict his own brother, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana. Steele initially defended the hire, only launching an internal investigation months later—underscoring troubling judgment from a top official overseeing Cook County’s property tax appeals.
Jon Snyder, formerly the elected assessor in Porter County, Indiana, was no ordinary political aide. He had pleaded guilty to a federal tax misdemeanor and served as a key informant in a major FBI corruption case. According to federal prosecutors, “Jon Snyder also provided helpful information in other criminal investigations,” and wore a wire to help convict his brother, then-Mayor James Snyder. Despite this history, Steele brought Snyder onto her taxpayer-funded staff after her 2022 election.
WBEZ uncovered that Steele was “aware of the criminal conviction, and it did not impact her decision to hire Snyder,” according to internal records from the Cook County Board of Review. In fact, Snyder alleged in an internal email that Steele had promised him unusual latitude: he could live in Indiana, work remotely from Florida, and operate his private appraisal business while serving as a public employee.
Despite repeated red flags, Steele took no immediate action. Internal Board of Review memos obtained by WBEZ show that Snyder violated policies on outside employment, improperly used sick leave to work for his private business, and potentially abused overtime. “He has been repeatedly warned of the requirements and consequences and he chose to disregard these warnings,” wrote Cristin Duffy, then-chief ethics officer and general counsel for the Board of Review. Still, in August 2024, Steele “declined to follow” Duffy’s recommendation for formal discipline. Snyder remained on staff for nearly two more months and was paid over $91,000 a year to handle commercial tax appeals.
Only in October 2024, after pressure from reporters, did Steele fire Snyder, citing a desire to “eliminate” his position and create a new vacancy. Her aide, Dan Balanoff, stated in an internal email: “Mr. Snyder was chosen as he was the only employee who had a disciplinary infraction.” Snyder is now fighting his termination with the support of AFSCME Council 31, which filed a charge with the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The union alleges the Board violated labor law by bypassing due process. “It should make the matter right, or the labor board will have the power to enforce a remedy,” an AFSCME spokesperson told WBEZ.
While embroiled in the Snyder scandal, Steele also faces her own legal challenges. In November 2024, she was arrested for DUI in Chicago after crashing a car into parked vehicles. Police bodycam footage and reports cited by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times show Steele refused to cooperate with officers, invoked her status as “an elected county official,” and had an open bottle of red wine in her vehicle. She also allegedly made lewd comments to arresting officers. The incident adds to a growing list of ethics controversies surrounding Steele’s tenure on the Board of Review, which plays a powerful role in determining property tax relief for Cook County residents.
Meanwhile, WBEZ is suing the Board of Review in Cook County Circuit Court to obtain more details from Snyder’s personnel file, many parts of which were redacted in response to public records requests.