Hearing set on fate of Waukegan hospital property: ‘They need to find a resolution as soon as possible’
Vista Medical Center East may be required to pay rent to a landlord if Lake County Judge R. Christopher Ditton orders the real estate at the northwest corner of Sheridan Road and Glen Flora. Avenue, where the hospital sits, transferred to a new owner because of unpaid property taxes.
Since Los Angeles-area-based American Healthcare Systems (AHS) purchased Vista more than three years ago, it has failed to pay property taxes, including more than $1.1 million from 2023 due in 2024.
First National Assets (FNA), a company that purchases delinquent property taxes as an investment, purchased the delinquent 2023 taxes in November 2024, and petitioned Lake County Court in January to acquire title to the property.
After asking the court for ownership of the real estate, AHS had until June 12 to redeem the taxes by paying the amount due along with legally required interest. FNA attorney Gregory Reiter said the company did not.
Ditton scheduled a hearing at a status call Friday in Lake County Court in Waukegan to enable FNA to present the evidence necessary to obtain ownership of the property where the hospital is located. The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 9 in Waukegan.
When Reiter appears in court in October, Ditton said he must provide the necessary evidence to show FNA is entitled to become the property owner, including proof of purchasing the taxes from the county, failure of AHS to make any payments, and that everyone with a legal interest has been notified.
“After I issue the order, (FNA) can go to the county clerk, who will issue the deed to the property,” Ditton said.
Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega said Friday that before his office issues a deed, all taxes due on the property must be paid and FNA has to show proof of payment. Unpaid taxes and interest for 2024 and 2025 are now slightly more than $2 million.
“We will distribute the money to the taxing districts,” Vega said, referring to entities like school districts, municipalities, townships, park districts and other recipients of tax revenue in Lake County.
Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said he was “cautiously optimistic” about Vista’s future in August when he learned of the background of the hospital’s new CEO, Daisy Rodriguez. News of the potential transfer of the property where the hospital sits is disturbing, he said.
“I am disappointed that the corporate leadership of American Health Systems has failed to resolve this ongoing issue,” Cunningham said Friday in an email. “They need to find a resolution as soon as possible so they can properly focus their attention on the regional health care at Vista Medical Center East.”
Along with showing proof that all unpaid taxes are current, Vega said FNA must show his office a certified copy of the judge’s order, proof the company purchased the 2023 taxes and a proper deed to the property. Then the deed will be recorded.
AHS CEO Michael Sarian could not be reached for comment. He said in March he planned to sell four parcels of real estate on the south side of Glen Flora across from the hospital to come up with the delinquent taxes.
When AHS purchased Vista from Quororum Health Corp., it bought the Vista corporation rather than its assets, leaving it with debts accumulated by Quororum. Financial problems have plagued AHS’s operation of Vista ever since.