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During the last two years, several agencies have worked together in an attempt to find and recover unpaid taxes from gas stations.  Approximately $70 million in unpaid taxes have been recovered since the program began two years ago. The most recent victory was the sentencing of an Auroragas station owner to two years in prison for depriving the state of over $250,000 in unpaid sales taxes.  For the full story read, “Aurora gas station owner sentenced to 2 years for tax fraud.”  For additional … [Read more...]

Patriot Coal Corp. has not adequately answered questions from retired coal miners about how their medical benefits and other retiree benefits will be paid.  Retired coal miners may seek payment from two other companies, Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Coal, Inc., by alleging they worked for those companies rather than the bankruptcy Patriot.  It is unclear how this will play out in bankruptcy court; however, Patriot has requested additional time to file a proposed bankruptcy … [Read more...]

Cavallini’s In The Park leases space inTinley Park’s Oak Park Avenue Metra station to serve commuters during the morning and noon rush from five in the morning until one o’clock in the afternoon.  However, because tax bills were being mailed to an incorrect address, the restaurant now owes almost $80,000 in taxes, interest and penalties. Forcing the owner to pay such a huge bill may put him out of business; however, the fact remains that the bill still needs to be paid.  The owner claims he … [Read more...]

Virlissa Crenshaw, former court clerk for Merrillville, pleaded guilty last week to charges of theft and filing a false tax return.  In her capacity as town court clerk for Merrillville, Crenshaw diverted bond money for her own personal use.  She also filed false tax returns to cover up the theft. Part of the deal for Crenshaw pleading guilty, her husband will not face criminal tax charges.  She must also pay back money toLakeCountyand the Internal Revenue Service. For more details read … [Read more...]

If the FCC approves the transfer of the Tribune Company’s broadcast licenses to its new owners, the Tribune Co. will emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with three new owners that are far different from the previous owners.  Two investment firms and a bank will be the new owners of the Chicago-based company that owns 8 newspapers, 23 television stations and numerous other media outlets. What direction the new owners may take is unknown at this time; however, it is a safe bet that they owners … [Read more...]

Gov. Pat Quinn has nominated his chief spokeswoman, Kelly Kraft, to run the Illinois Sports Facilities which has stirred controversy and questions by some including Mayor Rahm Emanuel.  Part of the controversy is that Kraft filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief in 2009 discharging over $100,000 in debt.  The Mayor’s office would not comment directly on the bankruptcy as an issue of Kraft’s ability to manage the Authority. It is unclear at this point if Gov. Quinn’s choice to run the Authority … [Read more...]

Investigations show that inmates were paid $2 million in unemployment compensation while they were incarcerated.  The checks were paid on their behalf even though they were not able to work at the time.  This is another step to reduce waste and fraud under the Integrity Initiative. The worst offender discovered through the investigation was an inmate inCookCountythat received almost $43,000 in unemployment benefits.  In all,CookCountyinmates received more than $700,000 in wrongful payments.  … [Read more...]

Amid slow sales, layoffs and closing stores, Bakers finally had to file for bankruptcy relief in a last ditch effort to restructure its debt and save the company.  Weak sales and heavy debt finally took its toll even though one of the secured creditors, Crystal Financial, LLC, agreed to lend the company $22 million to try to help Bakers survive bankruptcy. The company has been in business since 1926 and has been a public traded company since 2004.  As its stock sinks lower in value, time will … [Read more...]

Even if you are not a sports fan, ESPN’s new series ‘30 for 30’ seems to be intriguing.  The episode entitled ‘Broke’ is extremely timely given the recent recession and the still struggling economy.  Most people think they would never waste or lose millions of dollars and wonder why so many athletes are broke after earning millions of dollars. ‘Broke’ focuses on well-known athletes and how they earned and lost millions of dollars within just a few years. To read the full story see ‘30 for 30’ … [Read more...]

American Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy last year, is still struggling to resolve contract issues with its union pilots.  As if this was not enough for the struggling airline, it had to cancel 94 flights last week due to the failure of locking mechanisms used to secure seats. Then a cockpit warning light resulted in an American flight turning around and going back to the airport shortly after takeoff.  Flight delays and union problems continued to plague the company making it a very … [Read more...]