St. Charles CPA turns tax season tales into a new book

By Jim Whittington’s way of thinking, if every picture tells a story, so too must every tax form.

So much so that Whittington, of St. Charles, a former commercial real estate agent who has spent more than a decade as a licensed CPA preparing tax returns, wrote a book about his “deep appreciation for the human side of financial life.”

“Taxing Revelations: A Window into America’s Annual Civic Ritual,” is Whittington’s first book, one in which he shares the perspective he has gained on “the personal stories, financial challenges, and everyday realities that emerge each year during tax season.”

It was during his time working for H&R Block and Turbo Tax (as a live expert during the COVID pandemic) that Whittington started to make mental and physical notes about the patterns he was seeing — all the time considering he was privy to a “unique window into American life.”

“Every return represented a person or family with a story to tell — stories involving work, family challenges, aging, economic challenges, immigration, personal resilience, and the changing nature of our society,” Whittington said.

Whittington admits he had “notes all over the place” by the time he felt the stories he saw in tax forms could provide interesting storylines in a book.

In November 2025, Whittington started to piece his notes into a book outline and, eventually, a series of short stories, not about individuals by name, but about different categories or types of people and their tax forms.

“It was easy to write at first, just accumulating the short stories, then organizing it,” he said. “I was sending rough drafts to family and friends, and I was ready by early May of this year.”

By being “ready,” Whittington meant he was going to give self-publishing a shot on Amazon, and finding later that he would consider the most difficult part of the process being designing the cover and determining the overall look of the book.

But it’s the content that draws the interest, as we all may essentially learn something about ourselves through our tax forms.

One chapter describes those among us who might be “The Perfectionist” who shows up at the tax filing meeting with binders of information, spreadsheets and receipts arranged chronologically.

“They don’t actually need a tax preparer,” Whittington writes. “What they need is validation.”

Another entry describes “The Anxious,” about whom Whittington says, “Tax season is not a task for them. It’s an annual reckoning.”

In that segment, one can feel for “The Anxious,” as they seem to be on the edge of their seat with every key stroke on the preparer’s computer — in hopes a refund, but dreading the worst.

The humorous stories tend to rise to the top, Whittington notes, because they “make for good cocktail stories.” But he admits he has to temper those, so that no particular type becomes the brunt of a joke.

And then there’s the other side of life we all encounter at some point.

“There are quite a few stories that are heartbreaking,” he added. “A retired couple was telling me about their latest vacation and they were very happy people. But the following year the wife comes in, and her husband had died … it’s the kind of stuff that dramatically changes things for people.”

In another story, a handyman is working on stairs but falls through onto a concrete floor, becoming paralyzed for life.

Then there are the memorable stories, one titled “Prize Winners,” about a woman who was a finalist on the “Wheel of Fortune.” She finished second with $9,000.

“That (the prize money) was memorable, but the experience of being with Pat Sajak and Vanna White and all the shining lights, that was unforgettable,” Whittington said.

Whittington isn’t sure how big the market will be for his book, but he figures it could be a “great primer” for someone looking to do seasonal tax work.

Otherwise, it really is more of a social commentary that would interest anyone, he reasons, but also one that college professors may want students to study when learning about human behavior.

“Tax Revelations” is available in both paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon, but also at Town House Books in St. Charles.

Arcada hits century mark

Arcada Theatre frontman Ron Onesti is an enthusiastic pitch man.

You can hear the excitement in his voice when talking to him or listening to his social media posts or newspaper articles about upcoming shows or changes at the various theaters he operates.

He’ll be at his most excited during the Sunday, Sept. 6, celebration to commemorate the Arcada’s 100 years of business in downtown St. Charles, since city philanthropists Lester and Dellora Norris first opened its doors as a classic vaudeville and silent movie theater in 1926.

Several entertainers are expected to attend, and a downtown parade is planned as part of the festivities.

The place has a history as grand as its Spanish architecture, from the great vaudeville acts, to its majestic pipe organ, to 66-cent tickets to listen to the Lawrence Welk orchestra, to the likes of Baroness Maria Von Trapp performing.

With its history in mind, the theater continues to operate in much the same manner as it did in the 1930s. Since Onesti Entertainment took over the site in 2005, it has been revived to the point that even the beloved nightclub spot from yesteryear, Club Arcada, was reopened on the second floor, along with a dance club, Studio 64.

The number of music acts, comedians, one-on-one sit-downs with Hollywood legends, silent movies and community events keeps the theater busy doing what it has done well for 100 years — entertain us.

Home Works retirement

For the past 36 years, Geneva Home Works, at 33W622 Roosevelt Road in West Chicago, has been a popular option for those seeking new furniture or design ideas.

The McConnaughay family is retiring from the furnishing world, alerting customers that the store, located a block east of Kirk Road, will close at the end of the year.

Geneva Home Works opened at the West Chicago site and operated from that location over the past three decades.

Did you know?

The building at the corner of Batavia Avenue and Wilson Street in downtown Batavia has an interesting design — with the building perched on the downslope of Wilson toward the Fox River and center of downtown.

For decades now, a Special Occasions dress shop and a Thai restaurant have operated on the Batavia Avenue side, with other restaurant and retail spots heading east along Wilson Street.

It is known as the Anderson Block, built in 1892 by Oscar Anderson.

A dry goods store occupied the south end of the building, and a grocery store served the town on the north side in its first years of operation.

• Dave Heun is a freelance columnist based in Geneva, IL. He can be reached at dheun@sbcglobal.net.