Illinois Supreme Court rules on tax revenue dispute

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Rolling Meadows can keep over $1 million in sales tax revenue from a Cooper’s Hawk restaurant. The revenue was mistakenly sent to Rolling Meadows instead of Arlington Heights for nearly ten years. Arlington Heights had sued Rolling Meadows to get the money back, but the Supreme Court found that the Illinois Department of Revenue has the only authority to resolve such disputes. This ruling upholds a previous court decision that dismissed Arlington Heights' case due to lack of jurisdiction. The mayor of Arlington Heights, Thomas Hayes, criticized the ruling, stating it was unjust for Rolling Meadows to keep the money. He described the situation as “wrong” and said the ruling sets a bad example for local governments in Illinois. The Cooper’s Hawk restaurant, opened in June 2011, was incorrectly listed under Rolling Meadows in state records. The error was not corrected until March 2020, when Arlington Heights realized the mistake. Since then, sales taxes from the restaurant have gone to Arlington Heights. Although Arlington Heights received some reimbursement of $109,000 for six months of sales tax revenue, it has lost a decade’s worth of income due to the error. Justice Mary K. O’Brien noted that both municipalities failed to check the tax reports regularly, which contributed to this issue. Rolling Meadows' mayor, Lara Sanoica, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating it clarifies how such disputes should be managed under state law. She emphasized a desire to maintain a positive relationship with Arlington Heights for the benefit of their shared community.