|
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2023
Contact: Kania Robinson, PIO
(847) 377-2312
LAKE COUNTY CLERK ANTHONY VEGA ANNOUNCES OVER $3.1 MILLION IN DISTRIBUTIONS TO LOCAL TAXING DISTRICTS
Waukegan, IL – When Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega was sworn into office, he directed all management staff to conduct internal reviews of their respective department to identify areas of opportunity for better service, streamline operations, and update policy. As part of that process, shortly before Memorial Day, Clerk Vega was made aware of funds that had not been distributed to local taxing districts as part of the redemption and greenbook process going back to fiscal year 2019.
Immediately after becoming aware, Clerk Vega directed staff to reconcile records, determine the amount of funds owed to the approximately 200+ taxing districts and begin the process to outline the distribution of funds back into the Lake County community.
The following is a breakdown of funds broken down by fiscal year:
-
FY2019: $22,952.57
-
FY2020: $596,495.64
-
FY2021: $1,562,350.35
-
FY2022: $937,228.55
-
TOTAL: $3,119,027.11
"While the distribution of these funds is overdue, I am glad to be sending them back to our local communities where they belong. This was a failure of the prior Administration, and I am committed to rebuilding the trust between the County Clerk’s Office, our local taxing districts, and constituents. We are continuing to implement internal controls to ensure this does not happen again," said County Clerk Anthony Vega.
Funds owed to taxing districts include: $260,640.46 to Waukegan Community Unit School District #60, $177,314.46 to Antioch School District #34, $169,459.49 to North Chicago Community Unit School District #187, $141,144.66 to Round Lake Area School District #116 and $118,152.88 to Lake Zurich Community Unit School District #95.
Distributions have begun to be scheduled and will be done on a weekly basis until all funds have been distributed.
"I would also like to thank the staff at the County Assessor's Office and County Treasurer Holly Kim’s Office for their assistance in resolving this matter promptly," added County Clerk Anthony Vega.
###
About the redemption process:
Delinquent property taxes are sold at a two-day tax sale. If no one bids on a property, Lake County, as trustee for the taxing districts becomes the default tax buyer at which point the County Treasurer turns over responsibility for collection of delinquent property taxes to the County Clerk. Following the tax sale, the property owner has a period of time to redeem taxes before they could lose ownership. For more information visit: Tax Redemption Process | Lake County, IL (lakecountyil.gov)
About the Greenbook process:
The Greenbook is a list of Lake County owned parcels that is for sale to the public. These parcels were acquired after being foreclosed upon due to unpaid property taxes. Once a property has been sold via the Greenbook process, the County Clerk is responsible for the distribution of the funds to the appropriate taxing bodies. For more information visit: Greenbook Information | Lake County, IL (lakecountyil.gov)
For more information on Lake County Clerk services and up-to-the-minute election news, visit LakeCountyClerk.info, follow us at twitter.com/LakeCountyClerk, join our page at facebook.com/CountyClerk, or call 847-377-2400.
| 
