Petitioner LLC purchased a tax certificate for a property at a July 2017 Cook County scavenger sale. The certificate covered tax years 1997-2015. At the time Cook Country Treasurer and Collector published the sale, the 1st installment property taxes for tax year 2016 were delinquent but were not included in scavenger sale. Petitioner filed petition seeking to declare sale in error based on failure to include that tax delinquency in scavenger sale. Appellate court defers to interpretation advanced by the Cook County Collector: that 1st installment tax bills are not included in scavenger sales because they are an estimate and current tax year liabilities would not be included until after the 2nd installment tax bill had been issued and become delinquent. The legislature intended to codify, in the Property Tax Code, the process by which Collector was conducting scavenger sales and show the legislature's deference to the manner in which Collector conducted the sales. (LAMPKIN and REYES, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Tax Sales