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91_SB0237
LRB9103575PTpk
1 AN ACT to amend the Property Tax Code by changing Section
2 14-15 and adding Section 20-178.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
6 Section 14-15 and adding Section 20-178 as follows:
7 (35 ILCS 200/14-15)
8 Sec. 14-15. Certificate of error; counties of 3,000,000
9 or more.
10 (a) In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, if,
11 after the assessment is certified pursuant to Section 16-150,
12 but subject to the limitations of subsection (c) of this
13 Section, at any time before judgment is rendered in any
14 proceeding to collect or to enjoin the collection of taxes
15 based upon any assessment of any property belonging to any
16 taxpayer, the county assessor discovers an error or mistake
17 in the assessment, the assessor shall execute a certificate
18 setting forth the nature and cause of the error. The
19 certificate when endorsed by the county assessor, or when
20 endorsed by the county assessor and board of appeals (until
21 the first Monday in December 1998 and the board of review
22 beginning the first Monday in December 1998 and thereafter)
23 where the certificate is executed for any assessment which
24 was the subject of a complaint filed in the board of appeals
25 (until the first Monday in December 1998 and the board of
26 review beginning the first Monday in December 1998 and
27 thereafter) for the tax year for which the certificate is
28 issued, may, at the discretion of the county assessor, either
29 be certified according to the procedure authorized by this
30 Section or be presented and received in evidence in any court
31 of competent jurisdiction. When so introduced in evidence
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1 such certificate shall become a part of the court records,
2 and shall not be removed from the files except upon the order
3 of the court.
4 Certificates of error that will be presented to the court
5 shall be filed A certificate executed under this Section may
6 be issued to the person erroneously assessed. A certificate
7 executed under this Section or a list of the parcels for
8 which certificates have been issued may be presented by the
9 assessor to the court as an objection in the application for
10 judgment and order of sale for the year in relation to which
11 the certificate is made or as an amendment to the objection
12 under subsection (b). Certificates of error that are to be
13 certified according to the procedure authorized by this
14 Section need not be presented to the court as an objection or
15 an amendment under subsection (b). The State's Attorney of
16 the county in which the property is situated shall mail a
17 copy of any final judgment entered by the court regarding any
18 the certificate of error to the taxpayer of record for the
19 year in question.
20 Any unpaid taxes after the entry of the final judgment by
21 the court or certification on certificates issued under this
22 Section may be included in a special tax sale, provided that
23 an advertisement is published and a notice is mailed to the
24 person in whose name the taxes were last assessed, in a form
25 and manner substantially similar to the advertisement and
26 notice required under Sections 21-110 and 21-135. The
27 advertisement and sale shall be subject to all provisions of
28 law regulating the annual advertisement and sale of
29 delinquent property, to the extent that those provisions may
30 be made applicable.
31 A certificate of error certified executed under this
32 Section allowing homestead exemptions under Sections 15-170,
33 15-172, and 15-175 of this Act (formerly Sections 19.23-1 and
34 19.23-1a of the Revenue Act of 1939) not previously allowed
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1 shall be given effect by the county treasurer, who shall mark
2 the tax books and, upon receipt of one of the following
3 certificates certificate from the county assessor or the
4 county assessor and the board of review where the board of
5 review is required to endorse the certificate of error, shall
6 issue refunds to the taxpayer accordingly:
7 "CERTIFICATION
8 I, .................., county assessor, hereby certify
9 that the Certificates of Error set out on the attached
10 list have been duly issued to correct an error or mistake
11 in the assessment allow homestead exemptions pursuant to
12 Sections 15-170, 15-172, and 15-175 of the Property Tax
13 Code (formerly Sections 19.23-1 and 19.23-1a of the
14 Revenue Act of 1939) which should have been previously
15 allowed; and that a certified copy of the attached list
16 and this certification have been served upon the county
17 State's Attorney."
18 "CERTIFICATION
19 I, .................., county assessor, and we,
20 ........................................................,
21 members of the board of review, hereby certify that the
22 Certificates of Error set out on the attached list have
23 been duly issued to correct an error or mistake in the
24 assessment and that any certificates of error required to
25 be endorsed by the board of review have been so
26 endorsed."
27 The county treasurer has the power to mark the tax books
28 to reflect the issuance of homestead certificates of error
29 certified according to the procedure authorized in this
30 Section for certificates of error issued under Section 14-25
31 or certificates of error issued to and including 3 years
32 after the date on which the annual judgment and order of sale
33 for that tax year was first entered. The county treasurer
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1 has the power to issue refunds to the taxpayer as set forth
2 above until all refunds authorized by this Section have been
3 completed.
4 The county treasurer has no power to issue refunds to the
5 taxpayer as set forth above unless the Certification set out
6 in this Section has been served upon the county State's
7 Attorney.
8 (b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this Section shall be
9 construed to prohibit the execution, endorsement, issuance,
10 and adjudication of a certificate of error if (i) the annual
11 judgment and order of sale for the tax year in question is
12 reopened for further proceedings upon consent of the county
13 collector and county assessor, represented by the State's
14 Attorney, and (ii) a new final judgment is subsequently
15 entered pursuant to the certificate. This subsection (b)
16 shall be construed as declarative of existing law and not as
17 a new enactment.
18 (c) No certificate of error, other than a certificate to
19 establish an exemption under Section 14-25, shall be executed
20 for any tax year more than 3 years after the date on which
21 the annual judgment and order of sale for that tax year was
22 first entered.
23 (d) The time limitation of subsection (c) shall not
24 apply to a certificate of error correcting an assessment to
25 $1, under Section 10-35, on a parcel that a subdivision or
26 planned development has acquired by adverse possession, if
27 during the tax year for which the certificate is executed the
28 subdivision or planned development used the parcel as common
29 area, as defined in Section 10-35, and if application for the
30 certificate of error is made prior to December 1, 1997.
31 (e) The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 91st
32 General Assembly apply to certificates of error issued
33 before, on, and after the effective date of this amendatory
34 Act of the 91st General Assembly.
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1 (Source: P.A. 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff. 8-14-96;
2 90-4, eff. 3-7-97; 90-288, eff. 8-1-97; 90-655, eff.
3 7-30-98.)
4 (35 ILCS 200/20-178 new)
5 Sec. 20-178. Certificate of error; refund; interest.
6 When the county collector makes any refunds due on
7 certificates of error issued under Sections 14-15 through
8 14-25 that have been either certified or adjudicated, the
9 county collector shall pay the taxpayer interest on the
10 amount of the refund at the rate of 0.5% per month.
11 No interest shall be due under this Section for any time
12 prior to 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory
13 Act of the 91st General Assembly. For certificates of error
14 issued prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of
15 the 91st General Assembly, the county collector shall pay the
16 taxpayer interest from 60 days after the effective date of
17 this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly until the
18 date the refund is paid. For certificates of error issued on
19 or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
20 91st General Assembly, interest shall be paid from 60 days
21 after the certificate of error is issued by the chief county
22 assessment officer to the date the refund is made. To cover
23 the cost of interest, the county collector shall
24 proportionately reduce the distribution of taxes collected
25 for each taxing district in which the property is situated.
26 This Section shall not apply to any certificate of error
27 granting a homestead exemption under Section 15-170, 15-172,
28 or 15-175.
29 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
30 becoming law.