In re Application of the County Treasurer & ex officio County Collector of Cook County

── In re Application of the County Treasurer & ex officio County Collector of Cook County ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: May 22, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 250819-U No. 1-25-0819 SIXTH DIVISION May 22, 2026 NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ____________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT ____________________________________________________________________________ IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF ) Appeal from the Circuit Court THE COUNTY TREASURER AND EX- ) of Cook County. OFFICIO COUNTY COLLECTOR OF COOK ) COUNTY, ILLINOIS, FOR ORDER OF ) JUDGMENT AND SALE AGAINST REAL ) ESTATE RETURNED DELINQUENT FOR THE ) NON-PAYMENT OF GENERAL TAXES FOR ) THREE OR MORE YEARS ) No. 22 COTD 000490 ) ) (County of Cook, d/b/a Cook County Land Bank ) Authority, ) The Honorable ) Mary S. Trew, Petitioner-Appellee, ) Judge, presiding. ) v. ) ) Marwan A. Fateen, ) ) Respondent-Appellant). ) ____________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE PUCINSKI delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice C.A. Walker and Justice Gamrath concurred in the judgment. ORDER Held: We affirm the dismissal of appellant’s petitions collaterally attacking a tax deed issued to the appellee, where appellant lacked an interest in the subject property  1-25-0819 sufficient to give him standing to collaterally challenge the tax deed under section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure. 735 ILCS 5/2-1401 (West 2022). ¶1 Marwan Fateen appeals from the circuit court orders dismissing his petitions under section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1401 (West 2022)) seeking to vacate the September 2022 issuance of a tax deed issued in favor of appellee County of Cook, d/b/a Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA). For the following reasons, we affirm. ¶2 I. BACKGROUND ¶3 This appeal arises from the tax sale of a two-unit residential property located at 7541 S. Dante Avenue in Chicago (the property). The record indicates that the property was formerly owned by William L. Winston and Arcora Winston, as tenants by the entirety. The tax sale was based on the failure to pay property taxes for years 2007 through 2016. The record suggests that William and Acora Winston are both deceased, although it does not specify dates of death. ¶4 According to Fateen, beginning in 2018 he occupied the property with the consent of the former owner’s heirs after they “abandoned” the property. However, he has not identified any lease or documentation giving him a right of possession. Fateen asserts that he made various improvements at the property over the next several years, and that he paid property taxes for subsequent years 2017 through 2022. Notably, the record indicates that Fateen did in fact pay taxes to the Cook County Treasurer, as an “agent” for Acora Winston. However, ther