Park Forest annexation leaves Will County homeowners fearing tax hikes

Is it a forced annexation from the village of Park Forest? That is what some people in unincorporated Will County say is happening to them. They believe this could drive people out of their homes. Brett Buganski breaks down the controversy. They have just forced the annexation of this area. They probably can do it. So our street is right here. And just because they can do it doesn't mean that they should. This item is approved. I'm so moved. I'm so moved. And we're the kind of the first thing, the third thing that's being forced. None of us knew about this until two weeks ago. Larry McClellan has lived at his home in unincorporated Will County for the last 25 years. This is Oak Hill Drive. Larry showed us where the village of Park Forest is looking to annex property. The water main along Monee is undersized and is slowly failing and we have an increase in water loss that we discussed earlier that now needs to be replaced and staff has prioritized this as one of the projects to reduce that water loss. Days ago, Park Forest Village Manager John Kindseth explained why they voted to annex hundreds of homes into the village and will look to add more in the coming weeks. How do we justify to our taxpayers that the village has subsidized services to these unincorporated areas for decades? I have well-watered septic. They don't provide any service. They don't plow my road. They don't do nothing for me. And we would have to pay for other people's water usage. And that doesn't seem fair. Other people in Park Forest, we don't even have water. This is Erica Lessie and her son, August Fox, who have a private well and septic system, which they said will not change if they're annexed into the village. That's crazy, so you're paying into something that you don't even- I can't even use, yeah, if they annex us. Park Forest is robbing Peter to pay Paul. So why do you think this is happening? I think they just need money. A Cook County Treasurer's report said in 2024, Park Forest ranked in the top 15 of municipalities with the lowest property tax collection rate, which noted a correlation between vacant lots and low collection rates, which shifts the tax pressure on existing homeowners. The village is not annexing these properties as a money grab. We are annexing these properties to help offset the tax burden of our existing property owners. How much more in property taxes are you going to pay? So I will go from $8,000 in taxes to $16,000. Did you have to do a double take when you saw that? Oh my God. If my tax is going to double. What's the point? The only advantage I can even see, potentially, is a library card. So it's an $8,000 a year library card. Christopher Murray told us about 20 years ago his family lost their home through eminent domain. And now? Forced annexation. What's going to happen to you and your home if this gets done? Well, most of my money is tied up in the equity in my house. You double the taxes, my property value goes down incredibly. I will get out, and I will be leaving Illinois. Now these residents in unincorporated Will County are planning to speak at a village trustee meeting Monday to try to stop this annexation. Do you feel like having strength in numbers will make a difference? I do. I'm very hopeful that they'll see the humanity in it and they'll know that it's just wrong. If they pass it and forcefully annex us, they are going to be annexing a group of furious people. Brett Poganski, Fox Chicago.