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March 29, 2024

Wind farm owner owes $680,000 in past-due taxes, interest to Ford County taxing bodies

By John Kraft & Kirk Allen

On January 29, 2021

Paxton, IL. (ECWd) –

By WILL BRUMLEVE
[email protected]

PAXTON — Ford County officials sent a third courtesy letter Friday to the company that owns the Pioneer Trail Wind Farm near Paxton, reminding the firm to pay the $679,908 it still owes in unpaid property taxes and accrued interest.

Ford County Treasurer Krisha Shoemaker said she sent Chicago-based E.On Climate & Renewables North America a “friendly reminder letter” in mid-November — the week after the Nov. 6 deadline had passed for payment of the second installment of taxes for 2019 — and then sent another courtesy letter a week later, this time via certified mail.

Friday’s letter, like the first two, reminded the company that it still owes payment of its second installment of $640,803 in taxes, with 1 1/2 percent interest charged each month left unpaid, Shoemaker said. The approximately $9,800 in monthly interest fees now total $39,105, Shoemaker said.

The letter also warned that if the taxes and interest remain unpaid as of Feb. 17, the 78 parcels for which taxes and interest are owed would be included in Ford County’s tax sale that same day, allowing other companies to obtain tax liens against those parcels, Shoemaker said.

Continue reading on Ford County Chronicle…

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4 Comments
  • Diane Conner
    Posted at 22:38h, 29 January

    No surprise here

  • jannie
    Posted at 09:10h, 30 January

    Counties often tout what a “good deal” it is for the county. Looks like these companies don’t want to pay taxes due. What happens if no one wants to bid on it? Also, in my experience in our county – several of the county board members who were voting in favor already had lease agreements or proposals. Surprise, surprise.

  • PK
    Posted at 14:08h, 30 January

    Here’s to the sulfur odor emanating from the lease, 1o years later.

    https://www.fordcountyrecord.com/news/top-story-of-2011-the-pioneer-trail-wind-farm/article_17cdd517-63c6-5f4c-882b-0ec83547c7e4.html

    ‘old macdonald has a farm, e.on, e.on, O’

  • Golden Country
    Posted at 17:41h, 30 January

    Jannie

    It would be a conflict of intetest for any County Board members who have a vested interest in the wind farm to have voted on an ordinance allowing that development to move forward

    I sure hope they did not vote

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