Health & Fitness
Hospital chain with wealthy executives wants tax break
City of Zion says move would lead to property hikes for residents
ZION, Illinois – Zion residents would potentially face a massive property tax increase if a tax break proposed by a cancer hospital company is approved. However, Zion Mayor Billy McKinney has said the city will stop the wealthy medical executives.
The City of Hope Chicago cancer hospital in Zion, part of a California-based medical chain, has officially applied for a nearly $5 million property tax exemption from Lake County and the State of Illinois because City of Hope says it qualifies as a “non-profit hospital.” If the proposal is approved, it would result in a huge property tax increase for Zion homeowners, and Zion schools and taxpayers would be severely harmed.
The alleged “non-profit” City of Hope’s own tax records from 2021 filed with the U.S. Department of Treasury (990 Form) showed that its Chief Executive Officer Robert W. Stone reported earnings of over $4 million in salary and benefits. In 2021, 12 City of Hope executives reported salary and benefits over $1 million, and in the same year, the hospital chain reported $2.25 billion in assets, and $175 million in profits.
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The City of Zion provides police and fire protection for residents and employees of the City of Hope hospital; and there are hundreds of emergency calls from the hospital annually to the City of Zion to provide ambulance service and police protection.
Zion has bounced back from losing revenues from a shuttered nuclear plant and recently announced a massive economic development project. In May, the real estate company Imperien said it will design and build a half-million square-foot warehouse and office facility at the Trumpet Industrial Park in Zion.
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“Zion is a great place to do business, but this so-called non-profit hospital wants to gain greater wealth for its executives on the backs of our hard-working taxpayers. The City of Zion will use all legal and political tools at our disposal to stop this,” Mayor McKinney said.
The first hearing of the Lake County Board of Review for the hospital chain’s tax exemption request was scheduled for Wednesday, November 15.
