Each year the county conducts a tax sale under the provisions o f the Illinois Property Tax Code. For properties receiving no bids, the Illinois Property Tax Code authorizes the County of Lake to act as trustee on behalf of taxing districts and acquire the tax certificate without payment (each, a “certificate”). 35 ILCS 200/21-90. The County of Lake as Trustee (“COLT”) then administers the parcels for the benefit of the taxing districts, the incorporated areas in which the parcels lie, and thus ultimately for Lake County’s taxpayers. The Lake County Clerk, through its Tax Extension Division, administers the Tax Sale Certificate Program.
A primary goal of the tax sale program is to get properties acquired by tax deed back on the tax rolls and into the ownership of someone who will regularly pay the properties’ taxes. A secondary goal, consistent with 35 ILCS 200/21-90, is to assist municipalities or similar units of local government in recapturing and remedying derelict properties, particularly for those properties that have created an economic burden for the municipalities in which they are located and have a documented history of being unmarketable, or to foster affordable housing organizations in Lake County. The following procedures are directed toward these goals.
(Ord. 21-0420, passed 3-9-2021)