The Cook County state’s attorney is seeking to prevent former President Donald Trump from receiving a $1 million tax return that an Illinois tax agency believes he is owed.
The story: The office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx filed a lawsuit earlier this month with the Illinois Appellate Court, challenging the refund that the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board ruled the former president is owed.
The lawsuit argues that the refund would come out of the property taxes due to the Chicago Public Schools, the city of Chicago, and several other government agencies. the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
How we got here: The Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board ruled in a 5-0 vote in June that Trump is eligible for a total of $1.03 million in a tax refund because the value of the Trump International Hotel & Tower had been overassessed.
Worth noting: The dispute over the tax bills goes more than a decade back. The law firm Klafter & Burke, formerly run by Chicago Alderman Edward Burke (D), has been arguing the case on Trump’s behalf and had successfully secured over $14 million in tax breaks for the former president.
Burke was later indicted on federal charges on allegations that he prevent businesses from obtaining city permits if they did not agree to hire his firm. He has pleaded not guilty.
In detail: The state agency originally rejected Trump’s argument that the building’s vacant stores had no value because he could not find any tenants to lease them. A hearing officer for the agency said at the time that the law firm failed to show that Cook County overassessed the value of the building.
A staff member later wrote a report acknowledging that Trump was right to claim that the building was overassessed.
The agency delayed acting on the case until after the former president left the White House.
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