Rockton

Why your property value affects your Chemtool settlement

Half your class action payment amount depends on your property assessment.

Michael McGinnis

Jan 29, 2025 — 3 min read

Montage of Winnebago County seal and the Old Stone Church as seen on on June 14, 2021.

Rockton area residents within three miles of the the 2021 Chemtool disaster have been waiting for compensation. The Settlement Agreement approved by the judge established a formula for who gets paid what. For example, Analytics Consulting, the class action administrator, will pay more to homeowners who were less than a mile from the factory, or to renters who had more family members living in their home.

But that formula is literally only half the story on how the class action fund will be distributed. The other half depends on your property value.

According to the Settlement Agreement [PDF]

Physical damage to, and/or cleanup of, real or personal property and diminution of real property value (“Property Damages”). Fifty percent (50%) of the Initial Distribution Amount shall be utilized for payment of these categories of damages. Each Class Member who submits an Approved Claim shall receive a pro rata share of this amount based on the assessed value of the Class Member’s property as determined by the Winnebago County Supervisor of Assessments Office, i.e., the assessed value of the Class Member’s property as a percentage of the total assessed value of all properties of Class Members who submit Approved Claims. Only Class Members who are owners of real property in the Class Area are eligible to receive a payment for these categories of damages and only one payment shall be made per property.

Attorney Dan Flynn says, "We hope to have every PIN [Parcel Identification Number] for every property this week or next. Once we have the PINs, then we can get each EAV [equalized assessed value] and only then can payment calculations be generated. Even then, claimants who chose to receive payment electronically will need to be double checked for potential fraud. So, the bottom line is there are still several steps in the process, but we are getting closer. At this point, we hope that payments begin in February."

Class members could choose to receive their payments electronically through Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, or paper check. About 7,000 people were originally intended to share $51 million. For his work in representing Rockton-area residents and property owners, Flynn is sharing $33 million with eight other attorneys. Many class members didn't file claims.

Property values are assessed by Dana Adams in Rockton Township and Cindy Servant in Roscoe Township, but they are equalized by Winnebago County and the Illinois Department of Revenue "in order to produce a ratio of assessed value to fair cash value of 33 1/3%."

Flynn adds, "Please know that we have a team of people working on this process every day. We understand people are waiting but it’s also important to understand that this is a complex process that we want done correctly."

Thanks to Doug Clayburg for the information.