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Illinois Compiled Statutes

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

REVENUE
(35 ILCS 200/) Property Tax Code.

35 ILCS 200/Art. 17

 
    (35 ILCS 200/Art. 17 heading)
Article 17. State Equalization Process

35 ILCS 200/17-5

    (35 ILCS 200/17-5)
    Sec. 17-5. Equalization among counties. The Department shall act as an equalizing authority. It shall examine the abstracts of property assessed for taxation in the counties and in the assessment districts in counties having assessment districts, as returned by the county clerks, and shall equalize the assessments between counties as provided in this Code. Except as hereinafter provided, the Department shall lower or raise the total assessed value of property in each county as returned by the county clerk, other than property assessed under Sections 10-110 through 10-140 and 10-170 through 10-200, so that the property will be assessed at 33 1/3% of its fair cash value.
    The Department shall annually determine the percentage relationship, for each county of the State, between the valuations at which locally-assessed property, other than property assessed under the Sections 10-110 through 10-140 and 10-170 through 10-200, as listed by assessors and revised by boards of review, and the estimated 33 1/3% of the fair cash value of the property. To make this analysis, the Department shall use property transfers, property appraisals, and other means as it deems proper and reasonable.
    With the ratio determined for each county, the Department shall then determine the percentage to be added to or deducted from the aggregate reviewed assessment on property subject to local assessment jurisdiction, other than property assessed under the Sections cited above, to produce a ratio of assessed value to 33 1/3% of the fair cash value equivalent to 100%.
(Source: P.A. 91-555, eff. 1-1-00.)

35 ILCS 200/17-10

    (35 ILCS 200/17-10)
    Sec. 17-10. Sales ratio studies. The Department shall monitor the quality of local assessments by designing, preparing and using ratio studies, and shall use the results as the basis for equalization decisions. In compiling sales ratio studies, the Department shall exclude from the reported sales price of any property any amounts included for personal property and, for sales occurring through December 31, 1999, shall exclude seller paid points. The Department shall not include in its sales ratio studies sales of property which have been platted and for which an increase in the assessed valuation is restricted by Section 10-30. The Department shall not include in its sales ratio studies the initial sale of residential property that has been converted to condominium property. The Department shall include compulsory sales occurring on or after January 1, 2011 in its sales ratio studies. The Department shall also consider whether the compulsory sale would otherwise be considered an arm's length transaction, based on existing sales ratio study standards.
    When the declaration required under the Real Estate Transfer Tax Law contains financing information required under Section 31-25, the Department shall adjust sales prices to exclude seller-paid points and shall adjust sales prices to "cash value" when seller related financing is used that is different than the prevailing cost of cash. The prevailing cost of cash for sales occurring on or after January 1, 1992 shall be established as the monthly average 30-year fixed Primary Mortgage Market Survey rate for the North Central Region as published weekly by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, as computed by the Department, or such other rate as determined by the Department. This rate shall be known as the survey rate. For sales occurring on or after January 1, 1992, through December 31, 1999, adjustments in the prevailing cost of cash shall be made only after the survey rate has been at or above 13% for 12 consecutive months and will continue until the survey rate has been below 13% for 12 consecutive months. For sales occurring on or after January 1, 2000, adjustments for seller paid points and adjustments in the prevailing cost of cash shall be made only after the survey rate has been at or above 13% for 12 consecutive months and will continue until the survey rate has been below 13% for 12 consecutive months. The Department shall make public its adjustment procedure upon request.
(Source: P.A. 96-1083, eff. 7-16-10.)

35 ILCS 200/17-15

    (35 ILCS 200/17-15)
    Sec. 17-15. Tentative equalization factor. The Department shall forward to the County Clerk of each county in each year its estimate of the percentage, established under Section 17-5, to be added to or deducted from the aggregate of the locally assessed property in that county, other than property assessed under Sections 10-110 through 10-140 and 10-170 through 10-200. The percentage relationship to be certified to each county by the Department as provided by Section 17-25 shall be determined by the ratio between the percentage estimate so made and forwarded, as provided by this Section, and the level of assessments of the assessed valuations as made by the assessors and thereafter finally revised by the board of review of that county. Such estimate shall be forwarded by the Department to the County Clerk of any County within 15 days after the chief county assessment officer files with the Department an abstract of the assessments of the locally assessed property in the county, as finally revised. The abstract shall be in substantially the same form as required of the County Clerk by Sections 9-250 and 9-255 after completion of the revisions thereafter to be made by the board of review of the county, except that the abstract shall specify separately the amount of omitted property, and the amount of improvements upon property assessed for the first time in that year. The chief county assessment officer shall forward the abstract to the Department within 30 days after returning the county assessment books to the county board of review.
(Source: P.A. 91-555, eff. 1-1-00.)

35 ILCS 200/17-20

    (35 ILCS 200/17-20)
    Sec. 17-20. Hearing on tentative equalization factor. The Department shall, after publishing its tentative equalization factor and giving notice of hearing to the public in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, hold a hearing on its estimate not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days from the date of the publication. The notice shall state the provided hearing platform and accessibility instructions, date, and time of the hearing, the basis for the estimate of the Department, and further information as the Department may prescribe. The Department shall, after giving a hearing to all interested parties and opportunity for submitting testimony and evidence in support of or adverse to the estimate as the Department considers requisite, either confirm or revise the estimate so as to correctly represent the considered judgment of the Department respecting the estimated percentage to be added to or deducted from the aggregate assessment of all locally assessed property in the county except property assessed under Sections 10-110 through 10-140 or 10-170 through 10-200. Within 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing the Department shall mail to the County Clerk, by certified mail, its determination with respect to such estimated percentage to be added to or deducted from the aggregate assessment.
(Source: P.A. 102-1019, eff. 1-1-23.)

35 ILCS 200/17-25

    (35 ILCS 200/17-25)
    Sec. 17-25. Application of final equalization factor. The assessments of all property, other than property assessed under Sections 10-110 through 10-140 and 10-170 through 10-200, as returned by the county clerks, shall be equalized by adding to the aggregate assessed value thereof in every county in which the Department finds the valuation to be less than 33 1/3% of the fair cash value of the property, the rate per cent which will raise the aggregate assessed valuation to 33 1/3% of fair cash value, and by deducting from the aggregate assessed value thereof, in every county in which the Department finds the valuation to be more than 33 1/3% of the fair cash value, the rate per cent which will reduce the aggregate assessed valuation to 33 1/3% of fair cash value.
    However, no equalization factor shall be certified by the Department to raise or reduce the aggregate assessed value of any county in which the aggregate assessed value of property other than that assessed under the Sections cited above, is more than 99% and less than 101% of 33 1/3% of fair cash value.
(Source: P.A. 91-555, eff. 1-1-00.)

35 ILCS 200/17-30

    (35 ILCS 200/17-30)
    Sec. 17-30. Certification of final equalization factor. When the Department has completed its equalization of assessments in each year, it shall certify to each county clerk the percentage finally determined by it to be added to or deducted from the listed or assessed valuation of property in the county as returned by the county clerk.
(Source: P.A. 91-555, eff. 1-1-00.)

35 ILCS 200/17-35

    (35 ILCS 200/17-35)
    Sec. 17-35. Certification of assessments. The Department shall certify to the county clerks of the proper counties the assessments made by it on certified pollution control facilities, low sulfur dioxide emission coal fueled devices and on property owned or used by railroad companies operating within this State, along with the distribution of those railroad assessments among the respective taxing districts within the counties. The county clerks shall extend the taxes for all purposes on the amounts so certified, in the same manner as taxes are extended against other property in the taxing districts in which the pollution control facilities, low sulfur dioxide emission coal fueled devices and railroad property are allocated or distributed.
(Source: P.A. 91-555, eff. 1-1-00.)

35 ILCS 200/17-40

    (35 ILCS 200/17-40)
    Sec. 17-40. Publication of final equalization factor. The Department shall publish in each county the percentage and equalization factor certified to each county clerk under Section 17-30. If the percentage differs from the percentage derived from the initial estimate certified under Section 17-15, a statement as to the basis for the final percentage shall also be published. The Department shall provide the statement to any member of the public upon request.
(Source: P.A. 79-703; 88-455.)