Hebron village president facing cocaine charges could lose his home

HEBRON – Village President John Jacobson could lose his home this summer after failing to pay three years of property taxes, according to information provided by the McHenry County Clerk's Office.

The residence, at 12305 Jacobs Drive, was given to Jacobson by his deceased brother, Larry E. Jacobson, according to his will filed with the McHenry County Circuit Clerk’s Office in March 2009.

Jacobson owes $12,335.84 on the Hebron property as of Tuesday – an amount that encompasses three years of unpaid property taxes, according to the clerk’s office.

Melissa Massey, McHenry County tax redemption clerk, said Jacobson must pay the entire amount by July 26 or property ownership will be transferred to West Town Buyers Group.

West Town Buyers Group filed a petition Feb. 25 after buying Jacobson’s 2012, 2013 and 2014 taxes in a tax sale. If Jacobson pays the taxes in full before the July date, he can reobtain ownership of the property.

The 68-year-old faces drug and firearms charges after he was arrested in the wake a March 17 incident in which police said Jacobson was found unconscious in his bathroom after a night of smoking crack and drinking.

Jacobson was arraigned April 26 before McHenry County Judge Michael Feetterer and pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony; unlawful possession of a firearm without a requisite firearms owner identification card, a Class 3 felony; two counts of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

He is expected to next appear in court on June 7.

Jacobson said during the last village board meeting April 18 that he does not plan to resign at this time, despite a petition signed by 232 residents handed over at the meeting asking him to step down.

Hebron Village Board Trustee Drew Georgi said that if Jacobson is evicted from his home and the board was able to prove that Jacobson no longer lived within the village limits because of the tax issues, they could call a meeting and have him removed from office the same day, according to the municipal code.

Any process the board potentially could pursue to oust Jacobson would be lengthy, Georgi said. For that reason, Georgi said, he is looking into ways to adopt suspension or unpaid leave policies into the municipal code for instances such as this.

“This just adds to a worsening image of the person we’re dealing with,” Georgi said. “As public people, we have to be the example.”

Attempts to contact Jacobson on Tuesday were unsuccessful.