Grundy County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Grundy County, seat of Morris: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Illinois tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Grundy County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Grundy County Treasurer and County Collector
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Early November, in person, starting at 9:00 a.m. The Treasurer's tax buyer letter states: "The yearly tax sale will be held on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 at 9:00 A.M. at the Grundy County Administration Building, 1320 Union Street, Morris, Illinois." The Treasurer's website confirms "The 2024 payable 2025 property tax sale was held November 4th, 2025, at 9am" and that "Future tax sales are held at the Grundy County Administration Building located at 1320 Union St, Morris, IL 60450." As of late July 2026 the county had not yet posted a date for the next sale, so confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer's Office.
Registration and deposit
Pre-registration by mail with the Treasurer's Office is mandatory. The Treasurer's guidelines state "Only pre-registered buyers may participate in this sale." The packet directs bidders to "send a letter of registration (sample attached) for the sale 10 business days prior to the sale date (must be received by the Treasurer's Office by October 21st)" and to "include your $100.00 payment for the listing and your separate $250.00 registration deposit at that time to avoid delays in receiving the list." The certificate of registration is executed under 35 ILCS 200/21-220 and carries the note "DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION IS OCTOBER 21st, 2025." A tax buyer information sheet collects company name, contact name, address, phone, fax, federal ID or SSN, and email. Grundy County applies the single bidder rule, and the guidelines warn "Multiple registrations will be rejected." Registration materials go to the Grundy County Treasurer, PO Box 689, 111 E. Washington Street, Room 33, Morris, IL 60450. Reconfirm the current cycle's deadline and amounts with the office before mailing.
Grundy County runs a live, in person tax sale at the Grundy County Administration Building, 1320 Union St, Morris. There is no online auction platform and no confirmed online bidding option, so verify any third party claim to the contrary with the Treasurer's Office. The Treasurer's letter states "There is no absentee bidding, over the counter sales or purchase via mail," and the guidelines quote 35 ILCS 200/21-205: "All bidders are required to personally attend the sale." Bidding runs on the R.A.M.S. 2 tax sale system. Registered buyers bring a USB drive containing a single bid file with their penalty percentage for each parcel, the Treasurer imports every file, and "All items will sell to the bidder offering the lowest penalty bid." The buyer number assigned by the county must appear in the filename. If several buyers submit the same lowest bid, "a random lowest bid is selected." All bids are final and cannot be retracted, and buyers receive an email confirmation plus a processed bids file. Payment terms are strict: "Check or cash is required the day of the sale for all taxes purchased." No free online delinquent list is published. The Treasurer's letter says the list "will be published in the Morris Daily Herald, and the Coal City Courant newspapers" and that "The Treasurer's delinquent tax sale list will be available for purchase for $100.00 on or about October 24, 2025." A $10 publication fee is added to all delinquent parcels after October 1. The county also states it "will not assist individuals with foreclosures/tax sale."
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Sheriff or a court-appointed private selling officer, under an order of the circuit court. A county acting as trustee runs its own tax deed auctions.
- Frequency
- as ordered by the circuit court
- Typical timing
- Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction. Public Act 104-0553 created this route for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026, so the earliest Illinois judicial tax deed auctions fall in 2027, after the 1 year short redemption track runs.
Registration and deposit
Terms of a judicial tax deed auction, including whether it runs online, in person, or both, and what deposit is required, are set in the court's order and published in the notice of tax deed auction. That notice runs once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, starting no more than 45 days and ending no less than 7 days before the auction. Read the notice for each parcel; there is no statewide platform or standing bidder registration.
Bidding opens at the tax deed judgment amount plus 0.75 percent per month since judgment, plus publication and selling officer costs. The petitioning certificate holder is entered as a credit bidder at that minimum. Surplus above the minimum goes to the county treasurer for the former owner to claim.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Certificates nobody bids on at the annual sale are forfeited to the county as trustee for the taxing districts. The county may then assign a forfeited certificate to any party or sell property it has acquired, which many counties handle through a delinquent tax agent rather than a public counter. Counties may also offer county-held certificates at a scavenger sale with a minimum bid of $250, or half the tax when total liability is under $500. Ask the county collector and the county clerk which program the county runs and who may buy.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Grundy County Treasurer and County Collector
Grundy County Treasurer, PO Box 689, 111 E. Washington Street, Room 33, Morris, IL 60450
Official websiteNotes for Grundy County
- Redemption is handled by the Grundy County Clerk, not the Treasurer. The Clerk's page states sold real estate taxes "must be paid in full by certified funds only," meaning cashier's check, certified check, or money order payable to Grundy County Clerk, with exact cash accepted in person. Interest accrues at six month intervals from the sale date, current unpaid taxes can be added to a prior sale after the second installment deadline, and a petition for tax deed is typically filed three to six months after the redemption period expires. Grundy County Clerk and Recorder, Kay Olson, 111 E. Washington Street, Rooms 10, 11 and 12, PO Box 675, Morris, IL 60450, phone (815) 941-3222.
- Free parcel level research is available at the Grundy County Property Tax Inquiry portal, https://grundyil.devnetwedge.com/, which supports parcel number, owner name, address, sales criteria, and mobile home searches.
- The Treasurer's page is actively maintained. It lists 2025 payable 2026 installment due dates of Friday, June 26 and Friday, September 4, and a mobile home tax due date of Friday, August 28, 2026. No sale date for the next cycle had been posted at the time of this research.
- The registration packet quoted here covers the 2024 payable 2025 sale. The $100 list fee, $250 registration deposit, and October 21 registration deadline are that cycle's figures and should be reconfirmed each year.
- The Treasurer is Todd Koehn. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The fax number on the tax buyer letterhead is 815-941-3448.
Illinois statewide rules
- Redemption
- Property sold at an Illinois tax sale may be redeemed at any time before the redemption period expires. Public Act 104-0553 set the standard period at 3 years from the date of sale for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026. Certificates issued between January 1, 2024 and July 9, 2026 run on the earlier 2.5 year (30 month) track, and on that track the certificate holder could file a written notice with the county clerk extending redemption to a date no later than 3 years from the sale. A short 1 year period applies when the parcel was, on the date of sale, vacant non-farm property, commercial or industrial property, or improved with a structure holding 7 or more residential units. Certificates the county holds or assigns as trustee run on their own schedule under Section 21-385, and an assignee must file notice within 60 days of assignment setting a redemption deadline no later than 3 years from the assignment.
- Deed deposit
- Illinois does not fix a statutory deposit percentage. Deposit and payment terms are set in the court's order authorizing the auction and by the selling officer, so read the notice of tax deed auction for each sale. A purchaser who fails to complete the sale forfeits any deposit already made to the county surplus equity fund, and the court orders a new auction of the property.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any amount by which the winning bid exceeds the minimum bid is surplus. Within 30 days after the court confirms the sale the selling officer deposits the surplus with the county treasurer, who notifies everyone who received the Section 22-10 take notice that the owner at the time of the sale may file a claim for it. A county running its own tax deed auction deposits surplus with the treasurer within 30 days of the sale and notifies interested parties within 60 days. Separately, a previous owner who lost equity through a tax deed can claim an award from the county surplus equity fund, capped at the value of the property when the deed issued less mortgages, liens, and the taxes the purchaser paid.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Grundy County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Grundy County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Grundy County tax certificate sale?
- Early November, in person, starting at 9:00 a.m. The Treasurer's tax buyer letter states: "The yearly tax sale will be held on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 at 9:00 A.M. at the Grundy County Administration Building, 1320 Union Street, Morris, Illinois." The Treasurer's website confirms "The 2024 payable 2025 property tax sale was held November 4th, 2025, at 9am" and that "Future tax sales are held at the Grundy County Administration Building located at 1320 Union St, Morris, IL 60450." As of late July 2026 the county had not yet posted a date for the next sale, so confirm the current year's date with the Treasurer's Office.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
How often does Grundy County hold tax deed sales?
- as ordered by the circuit court. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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