Trying to make a U.S. Supreme Court case from Minnesota fit Illinois Tax Sale laws, attorneys have sued sixty-two counties.
Names as plaintiffs are County Treasurers and Clerks.
Take a look at who was sued in McHenry County:
Glenda Miller, in addition to not being the McHenry County Clerk any longer, is deceased.
Donna Kurtz was elected Treasurer in 2022.
The genius attorney who filed the suit is David G. Sigale our of Lombard.
The gist of the case is that those with back taxes have those taxes paid by tax buyers.
In return for paying the delinquent taxes, the lenders are allowed to charge an outrageous interest rate for every six months for a two-year period during which the property owner can redeem or pay off the loan.
If the property owner cannot afford to do so, the tax buying is allowed to seize ownership of the property through court action.
It was governments in Minnesota that received the difference between the loan and the value of the property.
The U.S. Supreme Court deemed that an unfair taking of property.
In Illinois, however, it is not the government who gains the windfall profit.
It is the the tax buyer.
Treasurer Kurtz told me she thinks that is a crucial difference, that any such suit should have been filed against the tax buyers, not the counties.
You can read the Edgar County Watchdogs story, which includes the court filing, here.
