An appellate court in Illinois has denied a claim for real estate tax exemption filed by a religious corporation formed by a man who obtained his ordination for $75 over the Internet, transferred his personal residence to the corporation, and then sought exemption for a church. George Michaels and his wife acquired a home on the shore of Lake Michigan north of Chicago in 2004 for $3 million. In the next two years, they demolished part of the structure, but remodeled the residence, built an addition with an indoor swimming pool and a two-story racquetball court, and installed an electric tram to facilitate access from the bluff at the edge of their property to the lake. The Michaels were...