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Business property owners in a downstate community have filed a lawsuit with the county after their property taxes skyrocketed by up to 400 percent in one year.
The class action lawsuit on behalf of the more than 500 business properties in Mattoon Township claims the county hired an inexperienced assessor to update their property values, which hadn't been updated since 2000. If true, this would violate state law.
Plaintiff Robb Perry says they're seeking nearly $1 million that was collected in higher taxes last year in a federal class action suit.
"It's not because we're just whining about taxes," he said. "This is just ungodly wrong. It's just wrong."
Perry said Coles County reassessed the one township and left the others, leading to massive hikes on Mattoon businesses, while others actually dropped.
More HERE
GOOD!
Milton township has problems too
Townships is not valid in Northeastern Illinois anymore.
Townships in Northeastern Illinois add another layer to the 6,900+ layers of government, the most layers in anyplace in the United States.
Townships is a place with the highest paid offices and ripe with political patronage and nepotism.
Many of the township officials are political Hacks, hanger ons and others that can’t make it in the real workplace.
Townships, in the populated parts of Northeastern Illinois, are an anachronism, insulated, protected due to the Arcane laws in Illinois governing the Township election process.
This, and other kinds of mischief in township, as well as the lack of access to the township election process is why Townships should be abolished in Northeastern Illinois.
God, the cognitive functions of people in this state just keep degenerating…
The article has NOTHING TO DO with townships. It was THE COUNTY ASSESSOR who hired an unqualified outside ‘consultant’ (who I’m SURE had no County political connections) to reassess certain Commercial properties IN Mattoon Township. The ‘consultant’ had no experience in mass-appraisal, and the result is the usual disaster you get when appointed political cronies, like a COUNTY ASSESSOR, set property tax assessments that SHOULD be done by a locally elected Township Assessor who has to answer to the voters and taxpayers.
So Mattoon Township had NOTHING to do with this. However…
Now, WHY does Mattoon Township lack a qualified Township Assessor? Perhaps because cognitive paragons like ‘Duck Duck Goose’ have gotten elected and run the township’s finances into the ground? Maybe because one “cost-cutting” township administration after another left the township with no funds and resources to perform its duties?
Whatever the reason, ALL residents of Coles County will be paying through the nose for this idiotic mistake by the COUNTY ASSESSOR…
Goose has it correct.
Also, by Illinois law, candidates for township officials and trustees are still the only party candidates allowed to be placed on the ballot by use of the easily-rigged “party caucus” process.
In my township: of the eight members of the Township Board, TWO are father and son, three are over 75 years of age, one has been on the board over 30 years, and four of them live within walking distance of each other’s homes.
A pretty cozy set-up, don’t you think?
Various township governments in suburban Cook County are totally ridiculous. Some are within wholly incorporated communities such as Cicero, Oak Park and River Forest.
Township governments are appropriate in rural and unincorporated areas. Not in cities and villages.
well Mr. Williams… IF I were elected to a NorthEastern Illinois Township, I would cut the budget by half, and have in placed, on the next ballot, a binding referendum (assuming it was legal which I don’t know right now) to abolish Township which I was elected to.
For the record MR. Williams, I am not a “cognitive paragons” and I am, not elected to any public office… Furthermore, I am fully aware the issues, and In the specific case of the assessor “consultant” who is likely somebody’s “Buddy” or “goomba hack”… as typical in local things like this.
Any rate, Township government has no place in Northeastern Illinois.