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September 1, 2010 By BOB SEIDENBERG bseidenberg@pioneerlocal.com
The family refused to pay. The Raos said removal of the tree, a box elder that stood primarily on the common property of the condominium, ran counter to the basic precepts of their Hindu religion to not harm things needlessly.
A city official said several weeks ago that -- with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to take the Raos' petition for appeal on the case for a second time -- the family could face losing their condo if they refused to pay the tax.
On Tuesday, a city attorney told the Review the city currently is in the process of removing the family's address or name from the tax delinquent notification list sent to the county.
That would also be the case for all future notifications sent to the county, said Tom Anger, an assistant city attorney.
"The case will not be taken anywhere else by the city," Anger said, declining to elaborate.
Rao and her elderly mother had been receiving letters from the city, saying if the special assessment remained unpaid, it could result in a Circuit Court tax lien and tax sale of their property.
Rao questioned the city's authority, noting that a September 2008 court order clearly stated the city was barred from taking any action against her property.
"It was something they (the city) tried to make the Treasurer's Office act against me and that was difficult for me to sort," said Rao, a medical doctor, who has acted as her attorney on much of the case. "It served no purpose other than to increase anxiety."
A city official said the city was acting in accord with Rao's condo association board, which had voted in favor of the $155,000 project, for which property owners pay individual fees.
Rao had maintained the makeup of the board was in dispute at the time. She said the board was not in control of such decisions -- with state law giving unit holders individual rights on such matters.
Rao had been told last week by a county official that their department had taken the Raos' condo unit off the list of scavenger sales.
However, the official then could not give her assurance that the city would not continue to press the case.
Records showed that the city had spent close to $40,000 in legal bills after turning to outside counsel in April 2008.
Rao could not be reached for comment late Tuesday on the city's decision to not pursue the case further.
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if (SITELIFE_ENABLED == true){ var contenthead="Evanston won't press condo owner for $635 tax bill"; //get rid of any html in the headlines contenthead=contenthead.replace(new RegExp(""),"") var pubdate=new Date(); pubdate.setFullYear(2010,9-1,1); pubdate.setHours(0); pubdate.setMinutes(0); var checkdate=new Date(); checkdate.setFullYear(2010,9-1,1+SITELIFE_DAYS_SHOW_COMFORM); checkdate.setHours(0); checkdate.setMinutes(0); var currentdate=new Date(); if (currentdate=pubdate) { gSiteLife.CommentsInternal("ExternalResource", "2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1", null, "TimeStampDescending", null, null, null, contenthead, true, false, "http://www.pioneerlocal.com/evanston/news/2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1.article", false); } }//if true if (SITELIFE_ENABLED == true){ gSiteLife.CommentsInternal("ExternalResource", "2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1", 10, "TimeStampDescending", null, null, null, contenthead, false, true, "http://www.pioneerlocal.com/evanston/news/2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1.article", true); }//if true STNGYahooContentMatch(); Evanston-Review.com: Contact Us | About Us | Advertise With Us | Media Kit Evanston Review: Subscribe | Renewals | Customer Service | Online Photo Store | News ArchivesAffiliates: YourSeason.com | RogerEbert.com |SearchChicago - Autos |SearchChicago - Homes | Local Area Jobs | Public Record Search | Centerstage Express Links: Death Notices | TV Listings | Video | Yellow Pages | Buy Photos | Communities | School Report Cards | Eating In | Restaurant Reviews Partner: BlockShopper.comdisplayAdSlot("Bottom"); displayAdSlot("Frame1"); displayAdSlot("Frame2"); displayAdSlot("OneByOne"); var addthis_pub = 'pp_addthis'; © Copyright2010Sun-Times Media, LLC | Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • Submission Guidlines • About Our Ads
Padma Rao and her mother, B.K., have been involved in a three-year legal fight with the city over the family's refusal to pay the tax for a 2007 alley paving project in a case that recently received strong media focus after the Review reported on the case.
The family refused to pay. The Raos said removal of the tree, a box elder that stood primarily on the common property of the condominium, ran counter to the basic precepts of their Hindu religion to not harm things needlessly.
A city official said several weeks ago that -- with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to take the Raos' petition for appeal on the case for a second time -- the family could face losing their condo if they refused to pay the tax.
On Tuesday, a city attorney told the Review the city currently is in the process of removing the family's address or name from the tax delinquent notification list sent to the county.
That would also be the case for all future notifications sent to the county, said Tom Anger, an assistant city attorney.
"The case will not be taken anywhere else by the city," Anger said, declining to elaborate.
Rao and her elderly mother had been receiving letters from the city, saying if the special assessment remained unpaid, it could result in a Circuit Court tax lien and tax sale of their property.
Rao questioned the city's authority, noting that a September 2008 court order clearly stated the city was barred from taking any action against her property.
"It was something they (the city) tried to make the Treasurer's Office act against me and that was difficult for me to sort," said Rao, a medical doctor, who has acted as her attorney on much of the case. "It served no purpose other than to increase anxiety."
A city official said the city was acting in accord with Rao's condo association board, which had voted in favor of the $155,000 project, for which property owners pay individual fees.
Rao had maintained the makeup of the board was in dispute at the time. She said the board was not in control of such decisions -- with state law giving unit holders individual rights on such matters.
Rao had been told last week by a county official that their department had taken the Raos' condo unit off the list of scavenger sales.
However, the official then could not give her assurance that the city would not continue to press the case.
Records showed that the city had spent close to $40,000 in legal bills after turning to outside counsel in April 2008.
Rao could not be reached for comment late Tuesday on the city's decision to not pursue the case further.
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Elections News and Results Special Reports Ode to Oakton Made by Hand News Main News Page Death Notices Forum Community Links Community News Politics Religion Weather
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News :: Print Article Email Article addthis_pub = 'pp_addthis'; Share / Bookmark ARTICLEURL Inaugural play a hit in Ridgeville Park District
// function onPageLoad() { if (SITELIFE_ENABLED == true){ var contenthead="Evanston won't press condo owner for $635 tax bill"; //get rid of any html in the headlines contenthead=contenthead.replace(new RegExp(""),"") stng.sitelife.integration.initArticle("2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1", contenthead, document.location, ", ", ["pubdate_September 1, 2010"]); }//if true } Evanston won't press condo owner for $635 tax bill Comments
September 1, 2010 By BOB SEIDENBERG bseidenberg@pioneerlocal.com
The family refused to pay. The Raos said removal of the tree, a box elder that stood primarily on the common property of the condominium, ran counter to the basic precepts of their Hindu religion to not harm things needlessly.
A city official said several weeks ago that -- with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to take the Raos' petition for appeal on the case for a second time -- the family could face losing their condo if they refused to pay the tax.
On Tuesday, a city attorney told the Review the city currently is in the process of removing the family's address or name from the tax delinquent notification list sent to the county.
That would also be the case for all future notifications sent to the county, said Tom Anger, an assistant city attorney.
"The case will not be taken anywhere else by the city," Anger said, declining to elaborate.
Rao and her elderly mother had been receiving letters from the city, saying if the special assessment remained unpaid, it could result in a Circuit Court tax lien and tax sale of their property.
Rao questioned the city's authority, noting that a September 2008 court order clearly stated the city was barred from taking any action against her property.
"It was something they (the city) tried to make the Treasurer's Office act against me and that was difficult for me to sort," said Rao, a medical doctor, who has acted as her attorney on much of the case. "It served no purpose other than to increase anxiety."
A city official said the city was acting in accord with Rao's condo association board, which had voted in favor of the $155,000 project, for which property owners pay individual fees.
Rao had maintained the makeup of the board was in dispute at the time. She said the board was not in control of such decisions -- with state law giving unit holders individual rights on such matters.
Rao had been told last week by a county official that their department had taken the Raos' condo unit off the list of scavenger sales.
However, the official then could not give her assurance that the city would not continue to press the case.
Records showed that the city had spent close to $40,000 in legal bills after turning to outside counsel in April 2008.
Rao could not be reached for comment late Tuesday on the city's decision to not pursue the case further.
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if (SITELIFE_ENABLED == true){ var contenthead="Evanston won't press condo owner for $635 tax bill"; //get rid of any html in the headlines contenthead=contenthead.replace(new RegExp(""),"") var pubdate=new Date(); pubdate.setFullYear(2010,9-1,1); pubdate.setHours(0); pubdate.setMinutes(0); var checkdate=new Date(); checkdate.setFullYear(2010,9-1,1+SITELIFE_DAYS_SHOW_COMFORM); checkdate.setHours(0); checkdate.setMinutes(0); var currentdate=new Date(); if (currentdate=pubdate) { gSiteLife.CommentsInternal("ExternalResource", "2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1", null, "TimeStampDescending", null, null, null, contenthead, true, false, "http://www.pioneerlocal.com/evanston/news/2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1.article", false); } }//if true if (SITELIFE_ENABLED == true){ gSiteLife.CommentsInternal("ExternalResource", "2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1", 10, "TimeStampDescending", null, null, null, contenthead, false, true, "http://www.pioneerlocal.com/evanston/news/2660754,evanston-alleyfight-090210-s1.article", true); }//if true STNGYahooContentMatch(); Evanston-Review.com: Contact Us | About Us | Advertise With Us | Media Kit Evanston Review: Subscribe | Renewals | Customer Service | Online Photo Store | News ArchivesAffiliates: YourSeason.com | RogerEbert.com |SearchChicago - Autos |SearchChicago - Homes | Local Area Jobs | Public Record Search | Centerstage Express Links: Death Notices | TV Listings | Video | Yellow Pages | Buy Photos | Communities | School Report Cards | Eating In | Restaurant Reviews Partner: BlockShopper.comdisplayAdSlot("Bottom"); displayAdSlot("Frame1"); displayAdSlot("Frame2"); displayAdSlot("OneByOne"); var addthis_pub = 'pp_addthis'; © Copyright2010Sun-Times Media, LLC | Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • Submission Guidlines • About Our Ads
Padma Rao and her mother, B.K., have been involved in a three-year legal fight with the city over the family's refusal to pay the tax for a 2007 alley paving project in a case that recently received strong media focus after the Review reported on the case.
The family refused to pay. The Raos said removal of the tree, a box elder that stood primarily on the common property of the condominium, ran counter to the basic precepts of their Hindu religion to not harm things needlessly.
A city official said several weeks ago that -- with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to take the Raos' petition for appeal on the case for a second time -- the family could face losing their condo if they refused to pay the tax.
On Tuesday, a city attorney told the Review the city currently is in the process of removing the family's address or name from the tax delinquent notification list sent to the county.
That would also be the case for all future notifications sent to the county, said Tom Anger, an assistant city attorney.
"The case will not be taken anywhere else by the city," Anger said, declining to elaborate.
Rao and her elderly mother had been receiving letters from the city, saying if the special assessment remained unpaid, it could result in a Circuit Court tax lien and tax sale of their property.
Rao questioned the city's authority, noting that a September 2008 court order clearly stated the city was barred from taking any action against her property.
"It was something they (the city) tried to make the Treasurer's Office act against me and that was difficult for me to sort," said Rao, a medical doctor, who has acted as her attorney on much of the case. "It served no purpose other than to increase anxiety."
A city official said the city was acting in accord with Rao's condo association board, which had voted in favor of the $155,000 project, for which property owners pay individual fees.
Rao had maintained the makeup of the board was in dispute at the time. She said the board was not in control of such decisions -- with state law giving unit holders individual rights on such matters.
Rao had been told last week by a county official that their department had taken the Raos' condo unit off the list of scavenger sales.
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