Rosemont agrees to pay millions in amusement tax settlement

By Friday, Rosemont will fork over $4.28 million to Cook County to settle a long-running dispute over the county's amusement tax.

Under the agreement, the village on June 1 also will start maintaining Cook County Forest Preserve property near Rosemont for a decade, acting Mayor Bradley Stephens said Wednesday.

The settlement amount was determined by an outside auditor selected by both the county and Rosemont.

"I'm glad to have it done," Stephens said.

Cook County in 1997 enacted its amusement tax, which varies according to the event.

Rosemont refused to collect the tax and said the county had no right to force a municipality to collect an extra tax.

In response, Cook County accused Rosemont of breaking the law, saying the village owed $13 million.

In 2005, after a judge ordered it to, Rosemont finally agreed to begin collecting the county's tax for sporting events, concerts and other entertainment at its venues.

The tax affects events at the village-run Allstate Arena and Rosemont Theatre. Friday's payment settles the dispute over the amount owed for the years the tax wasn't collected.

In addition to the money, Rosemont also agreed to pay for police patrol, trash pickup and snow removal on forest preserve land from Devon Avenue to Lawrence Avenue, and from River Road to East River Road.