THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2008
Village, County Settle Up Over Amusement Taxes Owed
The Village of Rosemont paid $4,276,000 to Cook County last Friday, May 9 as part of a settlement for back taxes dating from 1997 to 2005.
Additionally, the village will be responsible for providing police patrols and maintenance in Cook County Forest Preserve land adjacent to the village for the next 10 years.
Rosemont Village Board adopted the ordinance approving the settlement at their Wednesday, May 7 board meeting after Mayor Brad Stephens presented details.
In early April, the Journal ran an exclusive story detailing the settlement.
The amusement taxes were from events at the Allstate Arena and Rosemont Theater, both of which are owned by the village, that were subject to the tax.
The Cook County Board voted on the settlement at their Wednesday, Apr. 9 meeting.
Under the terms of the settlement, Rosemont will provide police patrols and maintenance including snow plowing and trash pickup of an area of County Forest Preserve from Devon Avenue south to Lawrence Avenue and from River Road east to East River Road for the next 10 years beginning on June 1.
Stephens said this will cost the village approximately $800,000 per year bringing the cost of the total settlement to over $12 million.
Stephens said the village's finances would not be strained because of the settlement.
Rosemont has been challenging the tax since 1997, asserting that the village could not be made to collect the county's tax.
In 2005, a Cook County Circuit Court judge found the Village of Rosemont liable for taxes on all tickets sold since Feb. 1, 1997.