Andrea A. Raila has for three decades been an ardent advocate for taxpayers' rights. Prior to starting her own successful tax company (1988-2013) she was a civil servant for 9 years. Andrea was one of only 3 women first assigned as commercial property tax case reviewers at the Cook County Board of Tax (Appeal) Review. Andrea held a research and outreach position at the City of Chicago Comptroller Office, in the newly formed Tax Advocate Division. Andrea left her civil servant position to found and operate a widely respected tax consulting and public policy firm, Andrea A. Raila & Associates. Inc. The Better Business Bureau awarded Raila & Assocs Inc its highly regarded Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics in Chicago and Northern Illinois along with Boeing, LTD Commodities and Access One.

In private practice Andrea served on the Tax & Fairness Forum under the Cook County Assessor's Office. Since 1998, Andrea has served as a certified property management instructor for the Community Investment Corporation instructing thousands of landlords and real estate investors about sound property tax finance practices. Andrea has published numerous editorials, real estate tax articles and studies, and has served on several real estate task forces, including the Taxpayer Federation of Illinois where she was a contributor to the study called "The Illinois Property Tax System: Taxation Without Representation" The study was a clarion call for tax reforms and several policy changes were implemented by the Assessor in the early 1990's. Andrea initiated several property tax laws which have passed through the Illinois legislature during her private practice from 1996 to 2016. Tax laws that improved back taxation and exemption laws have brought fairness to our property tax system in Cook County, which collects $12.9 billion in public revenues annually—more than 70 countries!