State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Introduced ][ House Amendment 001 ]

91_SB1303eng

 
SB1303 Engrossed                               LRB9110052SMdv

 1        AN ACT  to  amend  the  Property  Tax  Code  by  changing
 2    Sections 23-15 and 23-30.

 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    Sections 23-15 and 23-30 as follows:

 7        (35 ILCS 200/23-15)
 8        Sec. 23-15.  Tax objection procedure and hearing.
 9        (a)  A  tax objection complaint under Section 23-10 shall
10    be filed in the circuit court of  the  county  in  which  the
11    subject  property is located.  Joinder of plaintiffs shall be
12    permitted to the same extent permitted by law in any personal
13    action pending in the court and shall be in  accordance  with
14    Section  2-404  of  the  Code  of  Civil Procedure; provided,
15    however, that no complaint shall be filed as a class  action.
16    The  complaint  shall  name the county collector as defendant
17    and shall specify any objections that the plaintiff may  have
18    to  the  taxes  in  question.  No appearance or answer by the
19    county collector to the  tax  objection  complaint,  nor  any
20    further pleadings, need be filed. Amendments to the complaint
21    may  be  made to the same extent which, by law, could be made
22    in any  personal  action  pending  in  the  court.  A  taxing
23    district  may  intervene in any case in which an objection is
24    filed  against  the  taxing  district's  levy  by  filing  an
25    appearance in the case and providing notice and a copy of the
26    appearance to the objector and the State's Attorney. Upon the
27    filing of an appearance by  a  taxing  district,  the  taxing
28    district shall be responsible for defending its tax levy, and
29    the State's Attorney shall be relieved of the defense.
30        (b) (1)  The  court,  sitting  without a jury, shall hear
31    and  determine  all  objections  specified  to   the   taxes,
 
SB1303 Engrossed            -2-                LRB9110052SMdv
 1    assessments,  or  levies  in  question. This Section shall be
 2    construed to provide a complete remedy for  any  claims  with
 3    respect  to  those  taxes,  assessments, or levies, excepting
 4    only matters  for  which  an  exclusive  remedy  is  provided
 5    elsewhere in this Code.
 6        (2)  The  taxes,  assessments,  and  levies  that are the
 7    subject of the objection shall be presumed correct and legal,
 8    but the presumption is  rebuttable.  The  plaintiff  has  the
 9    burden  of  proving any contested matter of fact by clear and
10    convincing evidence.
11        (3)  Objections to assessments shall be heard de novo  by
12    the court. The court shall grant relief in the cases in which
13    the objector meets the burden of proof under this Section and
14    shows  an  assessment  to  be  incorrect  or  illegal.  If an
15    objection is made claiming  incorrect  valuation,  the  court
16    shall   consider   the   objection   without  regard  to  the
17    correctness  of  any  practice,  procedure,  or   method   of
18    valuation  followed  by  the  assessor,  board of appeals, or
19    board of review in making or reviewing  the  assessment,  and
20    without  regard  to the intent or motivation of any assessing
21    official. The doctrine known as constructive fraud is  hereby
22    abolished   for   purposes   of   all  challenges  to  taxes,
23    assessments, or levies.
24        (c)  If the court orders a refund  of  any  part  of  the
25    taxes  paid,  it  shall also order the payment of interest as
26    provided in Section 23-20. Appeals may be  taken  from  final
27    judgments as in other civil cases.
28        (d)  This  amendatory  Act of 1995 shall apply to all tax
29    objection matters still pending for any tax year,  except  as
30    provided  in Sections 23-5 and 23-10 regarding procedures and
31    time  limitations  for  payment  of  taxes  and  filing   tax
32    objection complaints.
33        (e)  In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if
34    the  court  renders  a  decision lowering the assessment of a
 
SB1303 Engrossed            -3-                LRB9110052SMdv
 1    particular parcel on which a residence occupied by the  owner
 2    is situated, the reduced assessment, subject to equalization,
 3    shall  remain  in  effect  for  the  remainder of the general
 4    assessment period  as  provided  in  Sections  9-215  through
 5    9-225,  unless  that  parcel is subsequently sold in an arm's
 6    length transaction establishing a fair  cash  value  for  the
 7    parcel  that  is  different from the fair cash value on which
 8    the court's assessment is based, or unless  the  decision  of
 9    the court is reversed or modified upon review.
10    (Source:  P.A.  88-455;  88-642,  eff.  9-9-94;  89-126, eff.
11    7-11-95; 89-290, eff. 1-1-96; 89-593,  eff.  8-1-96;  89-626,
12    eff. 8-9-96.)

13        (35 ILCS 200/23-30)
14        Sec.  23-30.  Conference  on tax objection. Following the
15    filing of an objection under Section  23-10,  the  court  may
16    hold  a conference with the objector and the State's Attorney
17    or, if a taxing district has filed an appearance in the case,
18    with  the  objector  and  the  taxing  district.   Compromise
19    agreements  on  tax objections reached by conference shall be
20    filed with the court, and the parties shall prepare an  order
21    covering the settlement and submit the order to the court for
22    entry.
23    (Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-126, eff. 7-11-95.)

24        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
25    becoming law.

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