The Ellsworth Fire Protection District [FPD] has scheduled a public hearing to approve a tax levy increase aimed at easing what the rural department calls financial "whiplash” following a tax miscalculation two years ago.
It’s the latest in a series of tax errors uncovered as four-term McLean County Clerk Kathy Michael, who is responsible for calculating tax rates, seeks to defend her position in the November election. Her Democratic opponent, Joshua Crockett, raised this potential fifth tax error since 2024 during a WGLT debate earlier this month.
State law requires a public forum known as "Truth in Taxation" when proposed increases exceed 5%. Ellsworth FPD plans a 31% increase to its tax income to account for "errors in how the county handled tax matters in the 2024 and 2025 tax years," said Pamela Bane, Ellsworth FPD president.
The district's 18 volunteer firefighters serve rural eastern McLean County. It includes Ellsworth, a community of about 180 people 20 miles east of Bloomington-Normal. The district is a separate taxing body from the Village of Ellsworth.
Michael confirmed Friday that Ellsworth Fire Protection District filed a tax abatement ordinance in 2024 but it was not applied by the clerk's office. The district received $193,555 in 2025, tax records show, which Bane said is $31,000 more than they should have received.
Michael said the following year, the clerk's office reduced the district's tax extension [the amount of money received in tax income] by an equal amount to account for the overage.
"This offset and corrected the error," Michael said. "However, because the 2025 tax extension was reduced to correct the earlier error, the extension was unusually low and does not represent a typical year for the district."
2025 McLean County tax records show an adjustment reducing the district's extension by $31,592, for a total of $170,061.
"This created a whiplash effect in dollar amounts on the tax extension and projected incomes for the fire district," Bane said. "Now in the 2026 tax year we must catch up with the EAV [Equalized Assessed Value] for the fire district, and it means a 31% increase on the tax extension to level things out appropriately."
Why now?
The clerk's office has recently come under fire for a series of tax miscalculations affecting 2024 taxpayer bills in the Octavia Park District in Colfax, and the Olympia and Ridgeview school districts.
Another mistake this year incorrectly charged a Village of Hudson tax to residents in Hudson Township who live outside village limits and are not required to pay it.
That error, which will be adjusted on next year's bills, left Hudson more than $81,000 short. The county board approved a no-interest loan in July to cover the gap.
Instead of a loan, Ellsworth FPD is turning to its tax levy for 2026, proposing a 31% increase to the extension to account for the adjusted year which left it short on cash.
"It is our hope that the County Clerk’s office can be more prudent in applying the abatements and levy ordinances accurately, to ensure stable finances for our district and our taxpayers," Bane said.
Michael previously attributed errors to a longtime employee who calculated tax rates leaving her office and not having the role "cross-trained" when a new tax administrator came in.
Michael is running for a 5th term in the Nov. 3 election. Crockett has sought to leverage the mistakes as evidence that new leadership is needed, while Michael urges voters to consider her whole record and not only one or two bad years.
“Our integrity is of great importance to me,” she said in an Oct. 16 candidate forum hosted by WGLT. “We do everything we can and hopefully I’ve proven that over 16 years.”
Crockett raised the allegation of another error in Ellsworth during that debate. A campaign spokesperson said they were in contact with Illinois Beef Association Executive Director and McLean County cattle farmer Josh St. Peters, "and he provided additional context."
Connie Beard, chair of the McLean County Republicans, calls recent the scrutiny of Michael's office "political theater," and questioned the timing of pointing to years-old mistakes this close to Election Day.
“Interesting that it’s timed at this juncture in the middle of an election to bring this to what they consider to be high importance when it was not even addressed or looked at in previous times.”
