Judge Keeps Orland Square Mall Tax Objection on Track for the Moment

A tax complaint that could force was continued this week, despite efforts for its immediate derailment.

Late this spring, Cook County Judge Alfred Paul ruled against a motion to drop the Orland Square Mall’s tax objections on the basis that the company which filed the initial lawsuit didn’t have the authority to do so. But he told attorneys that, with more information, the case could still be thrown out.

Florida-based Property Tax Management LLC (PTM), which filed the complaints last year, is neither a taxpayer nor owner of Orland Square and is not registered with Illinois, according to Ares Dalianis, who is defending Orland School District 135 and Consolidated High School District 230, two of the five taxing bodies that stand to lose millions of dollars in tax revenue and are working with the Cook County Treasurer’s Office.

Corporations and limited liability entities must register with the Secretary of State’s Office if they wish to do business in Illinois and initiate litigation, Dalianis said.

Simon Property Group and Orland LP, the legal owners of the mall, have since filed an amendment to the original lawsuit in an attempt to add their names.

“(Judge Paul) allowed us … to ask some written questions about documents relating to doing business in Illinois,” Dalianis said Tuesday. “We’re asking them for information, which they then have to provide.”

A spokesman for Simon could not be reached for comment.

Attorneys for Simon and Orland LP were in court Tuesday to ask Paul for more time to comply with the request for additional information on PTM's history. They have until Sept. 19 to conclude research and are scheduled back in court on Sept. 26.