Ongoing coverage from the Belleville news Democrat of a bid-rigging scheme that cheated thousands of Madison County taxpayers out of millions of dollars.
Delinquent property taxes were supposed to be sold to the lowest bidder — the person who would charge the property owner the least amount of interest for paying their taxes late. Instead, late taxes from 2006 and 2007 had nearly all the interest rates set at the legal maximum of 18 percent and the tax liens were handed to former Treasurer Fred Bathon's campaign contributors.
Read more at: http://www.bnd.com/tax-auction-controversy/