St. Clair County, Illinois — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → illinois. This page covers how St. Clair County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

C0. Identity

• County seat: Belleville, IL
• Population: ~257,631
• FIPS: 17163
• Recording unit: county
• Parent legal framework: illinois
• Judicial circuit: Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Illinois (St. Clair, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, Washington counties). St. Clair County Courthouse, 10 Public Square, Belleville. (Source: illinoiscourts.gov 20th Judicial Circuit directory, retrieved 2026-06-02)

C1. Local Tax Sale

• Conducts own sale? Yes — the St. Clair County Treasurer / County Collector (Andrew Lopinot) conducts the annual delinquent real-estate tax sale in person. Remote participation via mail, telephone, FAX, or internet is not permitted for the annual sale. (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Platform: In-person, at the St. Clair County Courthouse / Treasurer’s office, #10 Public Square, Belleville, IL 62220. No online bidding for the annual tax-lien-certificate sale. (Contrast: the county trustee program for parcels forfeited/sold to the county is administered by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates via iltaxsale.com — see C5.) (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale; iltaxsale.com/new/index.php/county/St_Clair/SCC, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Calendar: Annual, early November.

  • Tax sale (tax year 2025, payable 2026): November 2, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.
  • Final pre-sale payment deadline: Friday, October 30, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. — taxes not paid by then are offered at the November 2 sale.
  • (Prior year for reference: 2025 sale was held November 3, 2025; 2024 taxes payable 2025.) (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale and /delinquent-real-estate, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Registration deadline: October 16, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. Buyers must register in writing at least ten working days before the sale and comply with the Illinois Property Tax Code (35 ILCS Ch. 35). A registered investor may list representatives authorized to bid on its behalf. (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Registration deposit / fee: $500.00 registration fee submitted with registration. (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Bidding method: Bid-down-the-penalty per Illinois statute — “the bids start at 9% and decrease; the lowest bid is accepted.” (Consistent with 35 ILCS 200/21-215; see illinois needs_verification re: 9% vs. 18% maximum.) (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Payment at sale: Certificates issue within days after the sale; full payment is due shortly thereafter. Accepted forms: business check, cashier’s check, or cash. (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Per-parcel fees: The county tax-sale page does not itemize per-parcel fees beyond the $500 registration fee and statutory County Clerk fees. The statewide indemnity fee under 35 ILCS 200/21-295 ($20/item in counties under 3 million population — St. Clair qualifies) and related automation/clerk fees apply and are rolled into the certificate amount. (Exact local per-parcel fee schedule — needs_verification; see illinois §1.) (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Single-bidder rule: St. Clair County population (~257,631) is below the 275,000 threshold at which 35 ILCS 200/21-205 mandates a single-bidder rule, so the mandatory single-bidder/affidavit regime that applies in Cook and the large collar counties is not statutorily required here (the county may adopt it voluntarily — needs_verification). See illinois §11b.

• Subsequent taxes (“subs”): A tax buyer “may add any unpaid future taxes to back taxes owed after the second installment due date and before the next tax sale,” accruing the statutory penalty (12%/yr per 35 ILCS 200/21-355). (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/taxes-sold, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Delinquent list location: Published as a “Delinquent Real Estate Publication List” on the Treasurer’s department page (PDF), and offered as a purchasable tax-sale listing — PDF file $400.00 with free updates, available a few weeks before the sale. (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/delinquent-real-estate and /tax-sale, retrieved 2026-06-02)

C2. Local Redemption → framework: right-of-redemption

• Where to redeem: With the St. Clair County Clerk’s Office (Thomas Holbrook, County Clerk), #10 Public Square, Belleville, IL 62220. “The St. Clair County Clerk’s Office is where sold delinquent taxes are redeemed.” (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/taxes-sold and /departments/county-clerk, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• How to initiate: Contact the County Clerk to obtain the full redemption amount, including all fees, penalties, and interest. The Clerk provides a Tax Redemption Search tool (via stclairil.devnetwedge.com). (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/taxes-sold and /departments/county-clerk, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Payment forms accepted: Cashier’s check, certified funds, or money order; the Clerk accepts these by mail. (Personal/business checks for redemption — needs_verification.) (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/county-clerk, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Partial payments: Not accepted. “A redemption of the sold delinquent tax—including all fees, penalties, and interest—must be paid in full. Partial redemption is not accepted.” (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/taxes-sold, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Redemption period (as stated locally): Property owners have “24 to 30 months” (2 to 2.5 years) to redeem before the tax buyer can obtain a deed; “the interest rate on the sold delinquent tax doubles every six months.” This tracks the Illinois statutory structure (35 ILCS 200/21-350 / 21-355: 2.5-yr general, 1-yr vacant/commercial, extendable to 3 yr; escalating per-period penalty multiplier). See illinois §2 for the full statutory categories. (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/taxes-sold, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Local fees: Statutory fee schedule applies — per-period penalty multipliers (35 ILCS 200/21-355), County Clerk fee, plus any sub-tax interest. The Clerk computes the exact figure on request.

• Contact (redemption):

  • Office: St. Clair County Clerk, #10 Public Square, Belleville, IL 62220
  • Phone: (618) 825-2377 (County Clerk direct); (618) 277-6600 (courthouse main line cited on the taxes-sold redemption page)
  • Email: CountyClerk@co.st-clair.il.us
  • Tax Redemption Search: stclairil.devnetwedge.com (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/county-clerk and /departments/treasurer/taxes-sold, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Deviations from state default: None identified; the local process tracks Illinois statutory defaults. Note the two different phone numbers published for redemption contact (825-2377 vs. 277-6600) — confirm the current redemption desk line directly.

C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds

Tax Sale (lien-certificate) — Indemnity Fund (no traditional surplus pool):

Illinois does not generate a traditional “surplus” on the tax-lien side: the tax buyer pays only the delinquent taxes and, on non-redemption, obtains a deed to the whole parcel. The former owner’s remedy is the Indemnity Fund (35 ILCS 200/21-305). See illinois §3 and bell-v-pappas-2025 for the constitutional flux around this model.

• Claim filing venue: Petition in the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, St. Clair County (10 Public Square, Belleville, IL 62220), naming the County Treasurer as trustee of the indemnity fund as defendant. Filed within 10 years of the tax deed’s issuance. (35 ILCS 200/21-305; venue confirmed by 20th Judicial Circuit / St. Clair Circuit Clerk, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Claim form: No dedicated county-issued indemnity form identified; filing is by circuit-court petition. Contact the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk (Kahalah Clay) at (618) 825-2323 for filing procedure. (needs_verification — no local form number retrieved)

• Recovery cap: Up to $99,000 for owner-occupied residential (≤4 units) if no fault/negligence; fair cash value minus mortgages/liens for other property. (35 ILCS 200/21-305)

• Unclaimed list published: No dedicated local unclaimed-indemnity list identified. (needs_verification)

Mortgage Foreclosure Surplus:

Where a judicial foreclosure (sheriff/selling-officer) sale yields proceeds exceeding total liens and costs, the surplus is held by the Circuit Court (Twentieth Judicial Circuit, St. Clair County, 10 Public Square, Belleville) pending a court order for distribution; a claimant files a motion in the original foreclosure case. Unclaimed surplus ultimately forfeits to the State. (735 ILCS 5/15-1512; see illinois §4)

• Contact (mortgage surplus / court records): St. Clair County Circuit Clerk, 10 Public Square, Belleville, IL 62220; phone (618) 825-2323.

▸ For Investors / Operators — the annual sale is an in-person bid-down-the-penalty tax-lien sale (register by mid-October, $500 fee), and certificates are freely assignable by endorsement (35 ILCS 200/21-250). The acquisition-critical analysis lives on the parent page: illinois §5b for the marketable/insurable-title path (court-issued “merchantable title” under 35 ILCS 200/22-40; tax deeds excluded from the Marketable Title Act; quiet title commonly required by insurers — see C8) and §7b for surviving liens (IRS § 7425, condo assessment liens junior to the tax lien). Note the statewide constitutional flux (bell-v-pappas-2025; HB4537).

▸ For Former Owners — St. Clair generates no traditional tax-sale surplus pool; the former-owner remedy is the Indemnity Fund — a petition in the St. Clair Circuit Court naming the County Treasurer as trustee, filed within 10 years of the tax deed (35 ILCS 200/21-305, owner-occupied award up to $99,000). To keep the property, redeem at the County Clerk (C2) before the 24–30-month window closes. Mortgage-foreclosure surplus (a genuine pool) is claimed by motion in the foreclosure case at the Circuit Clerk.

C4. Offices & Contacts

Treasurer email: treasurer@co.st-clair.il.us · Clerk email: CountyClerk@co.st-clair.il.us · Recorder email: recorder@co.st-clair.il.us Treasurer hours: M–F 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. CT · Clerk / Recorder hours: M–F 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. CT (Recorder: items received after 3:00 p.m. recorded next business day)

(Sources: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer, /county-clerk, /recorder-of-deeds, /circuit-clerk; illinoiscourts.gov 20th Circuit directory; retrieved 2026-06-02. County Clerk and Recorder are separate elected offices in St. Clair County — Holbrook is Clerk, Crockett is Recorder.)

C5. Local Procedure Notes

• County trustee / scavenger-type program (Joseph E. Meyer & Associates): Parcels that go unsold or are forfeited to the county at the annual sale are handled under the county trustee program administered by Joseph E. Meyer & Associates via iltaxsale.com (links to the iltaxsalebids.com bidding system). After redemption periods lapse on county-held certificates, Meyer obtains tax deeds on behalf of the county and offers the properties at public auction (verbal or sealed-bid) at the St. Clair County Courthouse, Belleville. Assignable certificates were listed at $25; catalogs post ~30 days before each auction. Recent listed auction windows included July 31 and October 16, 2026. (Source: iltaxsale.com/new/index.php/county/St_Clair/SCC; jem-a.com/collections.html, retrieved 2026-06-02. Exact relationship between Meyer’s trustee auctions and the county’s annual Nov. 2 sale — needs_verification.)

• Annual sale is in-person only: Unlike many large Illinois counties that use online vendors (RAMS-2, etc.), St. Clair’s annual delinquent tax sale prohibits remote bidding — buyers or their listed representatives must be present. (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Mortgage foreclosure (judicial): Illinois mortgage foreclosure is judicial (735 ILCS 5/ Art. XV); sheriff’s/selling-officer sales occur after the redemption period and require court confirmation. The specific online platform St. Clair uses for sheriff sale listings (e.g., SalesWeb/CivilView) was referenced by secondary sources but not confirmed from an official county page — needs_verification.

• Tyler / Bell v. Pappas context: As detailed on illinois, St. Clair’s historical model (buyer takes the parcel for the unpaid taxes; former owner’s only remedy is the indemnity fund) is the model challenged in bell-v-pappas-2025 (Cook County, Dec. 2025) and tyler-v-hennepin-county. Whether HB4537 (passed May 2026, awaiting signature) and any extension of Bell beyond Cook County will alter St. Clair’s procedures is an open question. See illinois §11.

C6. Records Access

• Parcel / property tax inquiry portal: St. Clair County Property Tax Inquiry (DEVNET Wedge) — search by parcel, address, owner, or sale information; also hosts the Clerk’s Tax Redemption Search.
• Recorder / deed search: Recorder of Deeds “Remote Record Access” — co.st-clair.il.us/departments/recorder-of-deeds/remote-access (subscription/remote-access platform; exact vendor needs_verification).
• GIS / parcel maps: Public Tax Parcel Search (VertiGIS / Geocortex, ESRI-based); GIS department: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/gis.
• Tax payment portal: MuniciPay — St. Clair real estate taxes; monthly payment plan: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/payment-plan.
• Delinquent list (PDF): co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/delinquent-real-estate (Delinquent Real Estate Publication List).

C8. Title & Quiet Title → framework: illinois §5b

• Title type: Tax lien certificate → tax deed. St. Clair sells a certificate of purchase at the annual sale; on non-redemption the holder petitions the Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit (St. Clair County) for a tax deed (35 ILCS 200/22-30 et seq.). See illinois §1, §7.

• Quiet title required? Not strictly to convey title — the tax deed conveys “merchantable title” by operation of the court order (35 ILCS 200/22-40) — but a separate judicial quiet-title action is recommended in practice and commonly required by title insurers before they will write a policy. (See illinois §5b; ATG Illinois Tax Deeds.)

• Quiet-title court: Circuit Court of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, St. Clair County (Chancery), 10 Public Square, Belleville — venue is mandatory in the situs county. (735 ILCS 5/ Art. VI quiet-title provisions; see illinois §5b)

• Typical timeline: Per the statewide pattern on illinois §5b — uncontested 2–4 months (add 6–8 weeks for service by publication on unknown parties); contested 6 months to 1+ year. (No St. Clair-specific timeline retrieved — needs_verification.)

• Typical cost range: Attorney + circuit-court filing fees; statewide rough range $2,000–$5,000 uncontested (see illinois §5b). St. Clair-specific civil filing fee schedule not retrieved — needs_verification.

• Deed seasoning: Title insurers routinely require either a quiet-title action or significant seasoning before insuring a tax deed; the bell-v-pappas-2025 / HB4537 flux heightens insurer caution. See illinois §5b.

• Title insurers active locally: Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund (ATG — Illinois’s dominant bar-based insurer, market leader for tax-deed matters), and the national underwriters (First American, Fidelity/Chicago Title, Old Republic) operate statewide including St. Clair. (No St. Clair-specific insurer confirmation retrieved — needs_verification; see illinois §5b.)

C9. Purchaser Obligations During Redemption → framework: illinois §10b

• Subsequent-tax payment office: Pay “subs” through the St. Clair County Treasurer / Collector (#10 Public Square, Belleville; (618) 825-2707), after the second-installment due date and before the next tax sale; the buyer is responsible for ensuring the subsequent-tax amounts are posted so they are added to the redemption amount with the statutory 12%/yr penalty (35 ILCS 200/21-355). (Source: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/taxes-sold, retrieved 2026-06-02)

• Notice to owner (take-notice): The certificate holder must serve the statutory take-notice and petition the Circuit Court (20th Judicial Circuit, St. Clair County) for a tax deed; take-notice is filed with the Circuit Clerk not less than 3 nor more than 6 months before redemption expires (35 ILCS 200/22-5, 22-10). The St. Clair County Clerk issues the redemption/estimate figures; service and the deed petition run through the Circuit Court. See illinois §5, §6.

• Redemption payment office (where the owner goes): St. Clair County Clerk, #10 Public Square, Belleville (see C2). Full payment only; no partial redemption.

• Occupancy / access during redemption: The former owner retains possession during the redemption period; the purchaser holds only a certificate (not title) until the court orders the tax deed (35 ILCS 200/22-40). No St. Clair-specific local possession practice retrieved — needs_verification; see illinois §10b.

C10. Local Restrictions → framework: illinois §11b

• Single-bidder / insider rule: Not statutorily mandated — St. Clair (~257,631) is below the 275,000-inhabitant trigger of 35 ILCS 200/21-205. Voluntary adoption not confirmed (needs_verification). Entities (LLCs, corporations, trusts) may register and bid per 35 ILCS 200/21-205/21-210. See illinois §11b.

• Right of first refusal (ROFR): No statutory ROFR for municipalities, CDCs, or land banks at the St. Clair tax-sale stage was identified (consistent with illinois §11b — no general Illinois ROFR statute retrieved). needs_verification.

• Land bank: No St. Clair County-specific land bank was identified in retrieved sources. Illinois land banks operate by intergovernmental agreement (e.g., the St. Louis Metro East region is served by various municipal/regional efforts); whether a dedicated St. Clair County land bank exists and receives forfeited parcels is needs_verification. The county’s forfeited/unsold parcels are channeled through the Joseph E. Meyer & Associates trustee program (see C5) rather than a named land bank. (Source: iltaxsale.com St. Clair page, retrieved 2026-06-02; see illinois §11b.)

• Entity / insider notes: No local ordinance restricting purchaser entity type beyond state law retrieved. County-collector-employee insider-bidding prohibition is governed by common-law conflict-of-interest / local ethics rules (no explicit statute — see illinois §11b). needs_verification.

C7. Meta

sources:

• {type: official_county, url: “https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/tax-sale”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_county, url: “https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/taxes-sold”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_county, url: “https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer/delinquent-real-estate”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_county, url: “https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/treasurer”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_county, url: “https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/county-clerk”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_county, url: “https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/county-clerk/tax-extensions”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_county, url: “https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/recorder-of-deeds”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_county, url: “https://stclairil.devnetwedge.com/”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_gis, url: “https://maps.stclaircounty.org/Html5/index.html?viewer=Public_Pcls”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: payment_portal, url: “https://payments.municipay.com/il_stclair/search”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: vendor_trustee, url: “https://iltaxsale.com/new/index.php/county/St_Clair/SCC”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”, note: “Joseph E. Meyer & Associates county trustee program”}
• {type: vendor_trustee, url: “https://jem-a.com/collections.html”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”}
• {type: official_court, url: “https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/courts-directory/109/St-Clair-County-Courthouse/court/”, retrieved: “2026-06-02”, note: “20th Judicial Circuit”}
• {type: state_statute, url: “https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=003502000K21-305”, retrieved: “2026-06-01”, note: “Indemnity fund; verified on parent illinois.md”}
• {type: state_statute, url: “https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=003502000K21-355”, retrieved: “2026-06-01”, note: “Redemption amount/penalty multipliers; verified on parent illinois.md”}

needs_verification:

• Exact per-parcel fee schedule at the annual sale (indemnity fee, automation fee, clerk fee, interest fee). The county tax-sale page lists only the $500 registration fee; the$20 indemnity fee (35 ILCS 200/21-295, <3M counties) and related fees apply but the local itemized schedule was not retrieved.
• Redemption desk phone number: two numbers are published — (618) 825-2377 (County Clerk direct) and (618) 277-6600 (courthouse line on the taxes-sold page). Confirm the current redemption desk line.
• Redemption payment-form details: Clerk accepts cashier’s check / certified funds / money order by mail; whether personal or business checks are accepted for redemption (vs. for the sale) not confirmed.
• Relationship between the Joseph E. Meyer & Associates trustee auctions (iltaxsale.com) and the county’s annual November tax sale — whether Meyer runs the scavenger/forfeiture track only, or also any portion of the annual sale.
• Sheriff’s office name, address, and direct phone, and the specific online platform used for mortgage-foreclosure sheriff sales in St. Clair (CivilView/SalesWeb referenced by secondary sources only; not confirmed on an official county page).
• Recorder remote-access vendor/platform (Fidlar/Tapestry/Laredo or other) for deed search.
• Indemnity Fund claim form / local circuit-court filing instructions — no dedicated county form retrieved.
• Whether St. Clair voluntarily adopts a single-bidder rule despite being below the 275,000-inhabitant statutory trigger.
• Local unclaimed indemnity / surplus list publication — none identified.

cross_links: illinois, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, tyler-v-hennepin-county, bell-v-pappas-2025, due-process-notice, sheriff-sale, treasurer-sale, bankruptcy-automatic-stay, heirs-property, third-party-recovery-rules

changelog:

• 2026-06-02 — Initial autoresearch population from co.st-clair.il.us (Treasurer tax-sale, taxes-sold, delinquent-real-estate; County Clerk; Recorder of Deeds; Circuit Clerk), stclairil.devnetwedge.com, maps.stclaircounty.org, payments.municipay.com, iltaxsale.com / jem-a.com (Joseph E. Meyer & Associates trustee program), illinoiscourts.gov (20th Judicial Circuit), and the parent illinois page for statutory framework.

Disclaimer: This page is legal information, not legal advice. Tax-foreclosure law changes frequently, and Illinois’s tax-sale system is in active constitutional reform (see illinois, bell-v-pappas-2025, and pending HB4537). Verify every fact against the cited primary sources and consult a licensed Illinois attorney before acting. Last verified: 2026-06-02.