Woodrow Wilson Junior High on the auction block for delinquent taxes | Education

The building at 1140 W. Sunset Ave. is listed as 0922232B and the minimum bid is $831. Sealed bids can be submitted to the Macon County Treasurer, 141 S. Main St., #302, Decatur, IL 62523. The auction is Sept. 2. 

Travis Riggs of Joseph E. Meyer and Associates, the firm that handles delinquent tax auctions in Illinois, said the property taxes for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 were not paid, resulting in the property being placed up for auction. Those delinquent taxes add up to a total of $17,152.31. The building, which also has a sign on it from the city declaring it unfit for human habitation, is slated for demolition.

If a buyer does acquire the property, those back taxes would be forgiven, Riggs said.

Opponents of the Decatur Public Schools’ plan to acquire Lincoln Park and build a new Dennis School there have suggested the district could instead buy back Woodrow Wilson and use that building and site for the new Dennis. School board President Dan Oakes told the Herald & Review this week that the building is too degraded with time and vandalism to be used, and the property isn’t large enough to accommodate a modern K-8 school with play areas and parking.

Woodrow Wilson was built in 1932 and closed in 1979.