Clark Co. (ECWd) –
We urge everyone to read the first article on this subject at this link, as it provides key information that directly ties to what is going on with the Clark County Park District property tax levy.
The Clark County Park District board held a special meeting regarding adopting and filing a levy that is not in compliance with state law. A fact they acknowledged in the meeting. The motion to adopt and file it was based on a stipulation that it is only being adopted, provided the County Clerk accepts the late levy.
We reached out to the Clerk’s office, but have yet to receive any response on whether or not she would accept a levy that is well past the deadline for submission. Jeff Wallace, a former board member who spoke at the meeting, told us he has spoken with the Clerk and was informed that she would not be accepting the late Levy.
A former board member, Don Pine, provided great direction to the board, but it was ignored. He urged them to have some integrity and do the right thing, accept the mistake, and move on. He asked that they not put the Clerk in a position to have to accept or reject the late levy, and if accepted, it would start a firestorm.
According to Joe Ewing, the Board Chair, the Park District had not obtained legal advice on how to move forward, yet a few moments later, he tells the board what the attorney advised him to do, which was for them to adopt the levy and turn it in. Considering they all recognized the deadline for turning in a levy had come and gone, we are once again seeing how some local governments deal with mistakes, ignore the law.
Ewing pointed out that while the law clearly has a deadline for turning the levy in and that they missed it, it does not tell you what happens if you don’t file.
We can tell them what happens if you don’t file: the taxpayers get a break and the board gets praise for doing the right thing, just as was urged by the former board member Don Pine, during public comment.
What else happens if they turn it in late? It creates a bigger problem, just as they were advised. The Clerk is put in a situation where, if she accepts it, she would be a party to the ignoring of the law, which would open her up to potential legal action for accepting a levy well past the deadline. It is our understanding that every taxpayer in the district would have a cause of action to move forward to stop the imposition of the tax on their property, and the Park District would be a named party to such action, along with the clerk. Is potential litigation the reason the Park District attorney advised them to turn it in? If it were to be accepted and challenged in court, the attorney would be the one making money defending the Park District’s action.
The one thing we found very odd during the meeting was that there was no discussion on the financial impact, if any, if the law was followed and no levy filed. You would think that would have been a discussion, especially after it was referenced during public comment.
After reviewing the Annual Financial Report for the Park District, it would appear they can easily manage things for a year without the $170,613.00 levy based on end of year fund balances reported to the Illinois Comptroller in the Annual Financial Report for 2025.
- General Fund: $96,688.00
- Special Revenue Fund: $690,958.00
- Capital Project Fund: $153,082.00
With almost a million dollars on hand and only $53,570.00 of that balance being restricted, it appears they can manage without imposing the property tax, especially with revenues earned from services each year.
- 2025 – $923,244.00
- 2024 – $879,182.00
- 2023 – $888,691.00
With those kinds of revenues coming in each year and almost a million dollars on hand and expenditures reported for 2025 being $1,432,182.00, it appears they can easily get by without their levy of $170,613.00.
We will update on this issue once we can confirm what the County Clerk intends to do with the submitted levy.
