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Business property owners in a downstate community have filed a lawsuit with the county after their property taxes skyrocketed by up to 400 percent in one year.
The class action lawsuit on behalf of the more than 500 business properties in Mattoon Township claims the county hired an inexperienced assessor to update their property values, which hadn't been updated since 2000. If true, this would violate state law.
Plaintiff Robb Perry says they're seeking nearly $1 million that was collected in higher taxes last year in a federal class action suit.
"It's not because we're just whining about taxes," he said. "This is just ungodly wrong. It's just wrong."
Perry said Coles County reassessed the one township and left the others, leading to massive hikes on Mattoon businesses, while others actually dropped.
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