Delinquent Tax Notice

When a tax is not paid by the 2nd Installment due date State Statute requires us to send a “Delinquent Tax Notice” to the owner of record.

Illinois Property Tax Code Section 21-135 (35 ILCS 200/21-135)
Not less than 15 days before the date of application for judgment and sale of delinquent properties, the county collector shall mail, by registered or certified mail, a notice of the forthcoming application for judgment and sale to the person shown by the current collector’s warrant book to be the party in whose name the taxes were last assessed…

This notice will be sent by certified mail and will include the dates and times of publication, application of judgment and the sale of the delinquent taxes

The delinquent notice will also provide the total amount due for taxes, interest and the costs related to the certified mailing.

A delinquent tax must be paid with cash, personal checks will not be accepted.

Newspaper Publication

State Statute requires us to publish all delinquent taxes in the local newspaper at least 10 days prior to the date of judgment.

Illinois Property Tax Code Section 21-115 (35 ILCS 200/21-115)
The advertisement shall be published once at least 10 days before the day on which judgment is to be applied for, and shall contain a list of the delinquent properties upon which the taxes or any part thereof remain due and unpaid, the names of owners, if known, the total amount due, and the year or years for which they are due…….. The collector shall give notice that he or she will apply to the circuit court on a specified day for judgment against the properties for the taxes, and costs, and for an order to sell the properties for the satisfaction of the amount due.

The publication will list the parcel number, the owner of record and the delinquent tax amount. It will also state the date and time of application for judgment with the circuit court and the date and time of the tax sale.

This publication is intended to be a notification, not harassment.

Application for Judgment

State Statute requires us to go before the circuit court and ask permission to sell the delinquent taxes. We must provide the court with proof of the attempts we made to collect the tax. That would be the postmarked copy of the certified mailing of the delinquent notices and certified copies of newspaper publication(s). Once we receive permission from the court to sell the delinquent taxes the tax sale will be held within 5 business days.

Illinois Property Tax Code Section 21-150 (35 ILCS 200/21-150)
All applications for judgment and order of sale for taxes and special assessments on delinquent properties shall be made during the month of October…If judgment is rendered the sale shall begin on the date within 5 business days…If the collector is prevented from advertising and obtaining judgment during the month of October, the collector may obtain judgment at any time thereafter…

Payments of delinquent taxes can still be made between the date of application for judgment and the day of the tax sale.

Tax Sale

The tax sale is held within 5 business days from the date of judgment. If delinquent taxes are still not paid by the date of the sale they will be sold. A taxbuyer will purchase the tax for the amount due, which will include the tax amount and interest penalties that have accrued. After the tax is sold the property owner will have to redeem the tax from the taxbuyer through the County Clerk’s Office.

Payments of delinquent taxes will not be accepted after the sale has begun.

Illinois Property Tax Code Section 21-205 (35 ILCS 200/21-205)
The collector, in person or by deputy, shall attend, on the day and in the place specified in the notice for the sale of property for taxes, and shall, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., or later at the collector’s discretion, proceed to offer for sale, separately and in consecutive order, all property in the list on which the taxes, special assessments, interest or costs have not been paid.