Elgin Navy vet receives $28K in refund checks after ABC7 I-Team finds assessment error

UNINCORP. ELGIN, Ill. (WLS) -- One local man is getting almost $30,000 in refund checks for a property tax error.

The Elgin man now is getting those refund checks after he reached out to the I-Team about a plot of vacant land near his home. His property tax bill jumped on that land by more than 500%.

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That increase was costing him about $15,000 extra a year. It turned out to be an error.

Jim Duhr says he appealed with the Cook County Assessor's Office but got stuck in limbo. Then, he called the I-Team.

To make matters more complicated, his lender had been paying the huge tax bill on the vacant land, out of his escrow. That is industry practice, but then, his mortgage also skyrocketed.

After ABC7's inquiries, the Cook County Assessor's Office issued certificates of error and corrected the issue. Duhr recently showed ABC7 refund checks wtotaling $28,371.

He will now send his mortgage company that money to replenish his escrow balance.

When asked what happened after the I-Team got involved in his case, Duhr said, "Well, what happened was they were super motivated to fix. My problem is what happened."

"I got my certificate. I got my certificate of error fixed," he added.

The assessor's office also says it is now processing another certificate of error for an additional $9,000 recently paid by Duhr's mortgage company. After that is processed, another refund check for about $9,000 should be issued.