Make deadbeat migrant shelter landlords pay up

Remo Polselli did prison time for cheating on his federal taxes.

The Michigan landlord, whose companies own two buildings in Chicago that have been converted into migrant shelters, told the Sun-Times he made amends for his past tax fraud by paying more than $5 million to the IRS over the last several years.

But, less than a year ago, he started sending the IRS $22,000 a month to resolve another lien filed against him.

There's more: Sun-Times Watchdog reporters Tim Novak and Robert Herguth reported Polselli is behind $660,840 on his property taxes on the old Standard Club, where some of the approximately 46,000 migrants who have been sent to Chicago, mostly from Texas, have resided.

Polselli should not be let off the hook. Cook County officials and City Hall, which has spent $28 million to lease both buildings for the migrants, need to stay on top of the property tax debt and ensure Polselli pays up.

The city doesn't have contracts with migrant shelter landlords; private companies the city hired for assistance with the influx of migrants made those deals. But the city certainly can put pressure on its contractors, in this case Equitable Social Solutions out of Louisville, Kentucky, to be accountable for its debts.

In the throes of the migrant crisis, taxpayers ended up paying tens of millions to some deadbeat landlords, as the public is finding out.

Developer Scott Goodman, also getting taxpayer money to house migrants at three properties he co-owns, has been making payments on debt he owes the CTA. However, he still owes $1 million for leasehold taxes for CTA space.

Goodman and a partner, Arthur Hollis, are also in hot water for allegedly not making payments for several months on an $11.5 million mortgage for a facility at 344 N. Ogden Ave., one of the properties housing migrants. The duo also owes $123,376 in property taxes on the Ogden property, records show.

Housing migrants has been a colossal challenge for the city. Decisions had to be made quickly as thousands of migrants arrived weekly, from August 2022 to the spring of this year. We get it — clearly a couple of the landlords that ended up with contracts

Now, the mayor and county leaders should apply pressure to collect outstanding debts. And make sure the city doesn't get stuck paying deadbeats — and chasing money it's owed — again.

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