Taxpayers team up against county
Five Kane County residents who say they've missed out on property tax exemptions and overpaid their bills for five years have teamed up to take the supervisor of assessments to court.
The plaintiffs, who hail from Carpentersville, Geneva, St. Charles and South Elgin, filed a lawsuit in circuit court last week accusing county officials of refusing to correct their property tax bills retroactively, and also of failing to inform them of exemptions that should have saved them money in the first place.
"There exists hundreds, if not thousands, of taxpayers ... who are eligible for a claim of refunds for erroneous assessments," reads the lawsuit, which seeks class action status.
Attorney Ken Shepro, who represents the county in some civil matters, didn't have much to say about the complaint other than he hadn't read it yet. Plaintiff attorney Timothy Dwyer didn't return a phone call.
The suit names as defendants Mark Armstrong, who is the county supervisor of assessments, as well as the county board of review and collector. It asks a judge to issue refunds dating back to 2005 and order the county to pay legal bills for the plaintiffs.
The case goes before Judge Judith M. Brawka on Jan 7, 2010.
Vaccine liability: A resolution headed for Kane County Board approval this week aims to protect the county against liability in dispersing the H1N1 vaccine.
The resolution, which doesn't cover cases of "gross negligence or willful misconduct," passed the county's executive committee Wednesday and goes to the full board Tuesday, Oct. 13.
"This action is an administrative procedure that will provide legal protection to the county and any volunteers who may be assisting during the vaccination clinics," Health Department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert said in a news release. "It does not reflect any unforeseen spike in the number or severity of flu cases in Kane County."
Just in case you were wondering.
Behind bars: A former attorney who stole $137,000 from her St. Charles law firm won't be sentenced until Dec. 9, but she's already in jail.
Kane County Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon revoked bond Friday for Ann M. Day, 52, of La Fox, who was convicted the week before of 12 counts of felony theft and 16 counts of forgery.
Day was arrested in late February 2005 after her law partner, Karen Tietz, called police about irregularities surfacing in their law firm's accounting. She faces up to 15 years in prison.
Cops on the run: Aurora police will have their annual 5K Run for Athletes next month to raise money for Illinois Special Olympics.
Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. Nov. 7, with the race getting under way at 9 a.m. at the Fox Valley Park District's Blackberry Farm, 100 S. Barnes Road.
Police say they're looking for volunteers available to help out on race day. If you're interested or need more information, call Sgt. Doug Podschweit at (630) 973-6761.