Protesters Pay Thousands in Property Taxes With $1 Bills

Jon and Jennifer Groh of Spring Grove used only $1 bills on Tuesday when paying $20,000 in property taxes at the Lake County Treasurer’s Office. The Grohs were among 10 people to take part in an orderly protest meant to call attention to frustrations over high property taxes, which was organized by a group called Illinois Tax Revolution.

The $20,000 was only a portion of the property taxes owed by Jon and Jennifer Groh on their rental properties and it took a treasurer's office employee 45 minutes to run the stacks of $1 bills through a bill counter, according to the Daily Herald.

The Grohs tax bills have increased by $20,000 in the past year.

A similar protest was held Wednesday morning at the treasurer’s office in McHenry County. Illinois Tax Revolution protesters wore matching t-shirts at both protests that had an image of a dollar sign in a circle with a diagonal line going through the symbol.

The gatherings organized by the Illinois Tax Revolution are meant to “let our officials know that we won't stand idle while our taxes increase and we won't support public officials that won't commit to lowering our taxes,” according to the Illinois Tax Revolution website.

The “revolution” started on June 13 when two McHenry County taxpayers, Dan Aylward and Jeff McGrath, paid their property tax bills at the treasurer's office with $1 bills and coins.

McGrath of Woodstock owns an automotive businesses and came to the treasurer’s office with two clear plastics bags, according to the Chicago Tribune. One of the bags had $9,995.66 in dollar bills, and some coins, as well as a check for the remaining $1,456 he owed for his business’s property taxes while the other had $5,757.44 in dollar bills, and coins, to pay his residential property taxes. He said he was fed up with his tax bill going up each year.

"It's out of control,” McGrath told the Chicago Tribune. "I can't stay here and continue to do business. I don't see an end in sight here."

Following the June protest, McHenry County Treasurer Glenda Miller said she understands the frustration over higher property taxes as she also pays property taxes. But she said the protest only hurt her employees who are handling more than 138,5000 tax bills and higher taxes are not their fault.

More via the Daily Herald, Chicago Tribune and the Illinois Tax Revolution Facbook page

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