Raila & Associates, P.C. is a woman-owned professional services corporation. The Firm is composed of attorneys experienced at conducting property research and representing clients before administrative appeal agencies.
They are supported by residential and commercial case analysts, paralegals and real estate brokers on staff. When required or recommended, the law firm can also refer other professionals, like appraisers, who can help advance the prospects for tax relief with clients who are property owners, managers and tenants to achieve tax relief.
OUR TEAM
Paula Raila, J.D.
President
Paula Raila, J.D. is President of Raila & Associates, P.C., an Illinois law firm with practices in real estate tax appeals and tax recovery. Ms. Raila supervises a team of attorneys, paralegals and tax support staff responsible for filing and managing tax cases before Illinois County Assessors, Board of Review, the State Property Tax Appeal Board and Cook County Circuit Court. A native Chicagoan, she holds a degree in Nursing, a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Chicago, and a JD, cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School. Ms. Raila is a member of the Illinois State and Chicago Bar Associations, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Illinois Women’s Property Tax Association, the Institute for Professionals in Taxation and the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). She has authored tax assessment articles appearing in Chicago Lawyers Magazine. Ms. Raila is a strong advocate for youth mentoring and leadership development through student internships at the Firm. Recipient of the 2017 Better Business Bureau (BBB) Complaint Free Award
Thomas Thorson, J.D.
Associate Attorney
Thomas Thorson, Associate Attorney with Raila & Associates, P.C. A cum laude graduate of University of Illinois at Urbana and University of Michigan Law School, he has served as attorney with Lord Bissell & Brook, United Charities, and his own law firms. Tom has been active in non-profit and community development initiatives from Chicago’s northside neighborhoods to Aurora, Illinois, gaining a breadth of experience over three decades, with a private practice in real estate law and for the last eight years in property tax appeals.
Andrea Raila
Senior Tax Analyst
Andrea Raila is the CEO and Sr. Tax Analyst who founded Andrea A. Raila & Associates, Inc., a public policy and tax consulting firm in 1988, the recipient of the BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. Andrea brings a wealth of governmental experience in property tax consulting as a former property tax case reviewer for the Cook County Board of Review. Former Mayor Harold Washington hired her to staff the Chicago Taxpayer Advocate Office, the first property tax advocacy department. For over two decades as a lobbyist, Andrea initiated and passed five (5) statewide and Cook County property tax reform laws. Andrea established a robust student internship program at Raila & Associates. She is President of Loyola University’s Mundelein College and Gannon Scholars Alumnae Board and a 30+ year International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) member. She has served for over a decade as a Commissioner for the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues appointed by President Toni Preckwinkle. Andrea’s wide policy-ranging property tax expertise has made her a frequent source for local and national newspapers, radio, TV outlets, academics, reporters, and financial experts. She has authored and published numerous property tax studies, including the Illinois Property Tax System: Taxation Without Representation. Andrea has raised three children in the Edgewater Glen neighborhood of Chicago.
OUR COMMUNITY
The “community” of Raila & Associates, P.C. includes clients, peers in the legal profession and tax appeal services trade, employees, and countless organizations, agencies and institutions with whom we have worked. Â
In our community connections, the message is consistent — we all benefit as informed citizens and consumers by working toward an assessment and appeals system that is understandable, accurate and fair. Â
This holds true for a client of appeal services, an elderly taxpayer helping herself to a much-needed “freeze”, and an owners’ association networking with government officials.
Raila PC’s relations with other organizations run deep and are varied — with chambers of commerce and housing associations; with lenders and realtors to community organizations, libraries and churches.  Some train and provide resources to property managers, like Community Investment Corporation or Chicago Housing Authority; some routinely sponsor Property Tax Information Sessions for their members with Raila & Associates, PC as their principal presenter. Â
Associations & Agencies
- Addison Chamber of Commerce & Industry
- Albany Park Chamber of Commerce
- Andersonville Chamber of Commerce
- Apna Ghar
- Appraisal Institute
- Association of Condominium, Townhouse & Homeowners Associations (ACTHA)
- Brookfield Chamber of Commerce
- Cabrini Green Legal Aid
- Chatham Business Association
- Chicago & Northern Illinois Better Business Bureau
- Chicago Association of Realtors
- Chicago Bar Association (CBA)
- Chicago Community Loan Fund
- Chicago Council of Lawyers
- Chicago Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
- Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce
- Chicagoland Apartment Association (CAA)
- Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
- Crete Area Chamber of Commerce
- Edison Park Chamber of Commerce
- Garfield Ridge Chamber of Commerce
- Hegewisch Chamber of Commerce
- Illinois Paralegal Association
- Illinois Sheriffs’ Association
- Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA)
- Institute for Professionals In Taxation (IPT)
- International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO)
- Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce
- Lakeview Chamber of Commerce
- Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce
- Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce
- Melrose Park Chamber of Commerce
- Mont Clare-Elmwood Park Chamber of Commerce
- Mount Propsect Chamber of Commerce
- Northcenter Chamber of Commerce
- Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce
- Old Town Merchants & Residents Association
- Ravenswood Community Council
- River North Business Association
- Riverdale Chamber of Commerce
- Riverside Chamber of Commerce
- Rogers Park Business Alliance
- Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce
- Sauganash Chamber of Commerce
- Southeast Chicago Chamber of Commerce
- South Loop Chamber of Commerce
- South Shore Chamber Inc.
- Southside Builders Association
- Streeterville Chamber of Commerce
- Uptown Business Partners
- West Lawn/Archer Heights Chamber of Commerce
- West Ridge Chamber of Commerce
- Winnetka-Northfield Chamber of Commerce
- Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI)
Career Opportunites
Raila & Associates, P.C. has a dynamic and challenging work environment. We are always looking to work with people with similar goals. Please send us your goals / business objectives and resume to Careers@RailaPC.com or contact us.