35 ILCS 200/ Property Tax Code.

(35 ILCS 200/10-166)

Sec. 10-166. Registered land or land encumbered by conservation rights; valuation. Except in counties with more than 200,000 inhabitants that classify property for the purpose of taxation, to the extent any portion of any lot, parcel, or tract of land is (i) registered in perpetuity under Section 16 of the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act, or (ii) encumbered in perpetuity by a conservation right, as defined in the Real Property Conservation Rights Act, if the conservation right has been conveyed and accepted in accordance with Section 2 of the Real Property Conservation Rights Act, recorded under Section 5 of that Act, and yields a public benefit as defined in Section 10-167 of this Act, upon application under Section 10-168, the portion of the lot, parcel, or tract of land registered or encumbered shall be valued at 8-1/3% of its fair market value estimated as if it were not registered or encumbered; and any improvement, dwelling, or other appurtenant structure present on any registered or encumbered portion of land shall be valued at 33-1/3% of its fair market value. Beginning with the 1995 tax year in counties with more than 200,000 inhabitants that classify property for the purpose of taxation, to the extent any portion of a lot, parcel, or tract of land is (i) registered in perpetuity under Section 16 of the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act or (ii) encumbered in perpetuity by a conservation right, as defined in the Real Property Conservation Rights Act, if the conservation right has been conveyed and accepted in accordance with Section 2 of the Real Property Conservation Rights Act, recorded under Section 5 of that Act, and yields a public benefit as defined in Section 10-167 of this Code, upon application under Section 10-168, the portion of the lot, parcel, or tract of land registered or encumbered shall be valued at 25% of that percentage of its fair market value established under this Code, by an ordinance adopted under Section 4 of Article IX of the Illinois Constitution, or both, as the case may be; and any improvement, dwelling, or other appurtenant structure present on any registered or encumbered portion of the land shall be valued at that percentage of fair market value established under this Code, by an ordinance adopted under Section 4 of Article IX of the Illinois Constitution, or both, as the case may be. To qualify for valuation under this Section, the registration agreement or conservation right establishing an encumbrance shall prohibit the construction of any other structure on the registered or encumbered land except replacement structures, no larger than the previous structures which are replaced, that do not interfere with or destroy the registration or conservation right.

The valuation provided for in this Section shall not apply to any land that has been valued as open space land under Section 10-155.

(Source: P.A. 88-657, eff. 1-1-95.)

(35 ILCS 200/10-167)

Sec. 10-167. Definition of public benefit; certification.

(a) A conservation right on land shall be considered to provide a demonstrated public benefit if the Department of Natural Resources certifies that it protects in perpetuity at least one of the following:

(1) Land providing a regular opportunity for public access to outdoor recreation or outdoor education.

(2) Land preserving habitat for State or federal endangered or threatened species or federal candidate species as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 424.02).

(3) Land identified in the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory.

(4) Land determined to be eligible for registration under Section 16 of the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act.

(5) Land contributing to the ecological viability of a park, conservation area, nature preserve, or other high quality native terrestrial or aquatic area that is publicly owned or otherwise protected.

(6) Land included in, or consistent with a federal, State, regional, or local government policy or plan for the conservation of wildlife habitat or open space, for the restoration or protection of lakes and streams, or for the protection of scenic areas.

(b) The person liable for taxes on the land shall submit an application to the Department of Natural Resources requesting certification that the land meets one of the criteria established in subsection (a). The application shall be in a form furnished by the Department of Natural Resources. Within 30 days of receipt of a complete and correct application for certification, the Department of Natural Resources shall determine whether the land encumbered by a conservation right provides a demonstrated public benefit and shall inform the applicant in writing of the decision.

(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)

(35 ILCS 200/10-168)

Sec. 10-168. Valuation of registered land or land encumbered by conservation rights; application process.

(a) The person liable for taxes on land eligible for assessment under Section 10-166 must file a verified application requesting the registered land or conservation rights valuation with the chief county assessment officer by January 31 of the first year that the valuation is desired. If the application is not filed by January 31, the taxpayer waives the right to claim that valuation for that year. The application shall be in the form prescribed by the Department and shall contain information as may reasonably be required to determine whether the applicant meets the requirements of Section 10-166. If the application shows the applicant is entitled to the valuation, the chief county assessment officer shall approve it and maintain that valuation until notified as provided in Section 10-169. Otherwise, the application shall be rejected. The application shall be accompanied by the certification provided for in Section 10-167, if required.

(b) When the application has been filed with and approved by the chief county assessment officer, he or she shall determine the valuation of the land as otherwise permitted by law and as required under Section 10-166, and shall keep a record of that valuation.

(Source: P.A. 88-657, eff. 1-1-95.)

(35 ILCS 200/10-169)

Sec. 10-169. Land no longer registered or encumbered by conservation rights.

(a) In the event the registration agreement or conservation right by which a portion of land has been valued under Section 10-166 is released or amended and for purposes of a conservation right has the effect of substantially diminishing the public benefit, the person liable for taxes on the land shall notify the chief county assessment officer in writing by certified mail within 30 days after the release or amendment. The person liable for taxes on the land that is no longer registered or encumbered by the conservation right shall pay the county collector, by the following September 1, the difference between the taxes paid in the 10 preceding years or, in the event the reduced valuation has been in effect for less than 10 preceding years, the difference between the taxes for the years the reduced valuation has been in effect as based on a valuation under Section 10-166 and what the taxes for those years would have been when based on the valuation as otherwise permitted by this Code, by ordinance adopted under Section 4 of Article IX of the Illinois Constitution, or both, as the case may be, together with 10% interest. If the difference is not paid by the following September 1, the amount of that difference shall be considered as delinquent taxes. In the event the person liable for taxes on the land fails to notify the chief county assessment officer in writing by certified mail within 30 days after the release or amendment of the conservation rights, the property shall be treated as omitted property under the provisions of this Code.

(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply if:

(1) the registration agreement or conservation right is released, terminated, or extinguished pursuant to an acquisition by eminent domain of the land registered or encumbered by the conservation right, provided that for purposes of a conservation right the compensation for the conservation right is paid to the grantee of the conservation right; or

(2) the registration agreement or conservation right is released, terminated, or extinguished in an involuntary judicial proceeding, provided that for purposes of a conservation right all of the proceeds from a sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion of the conservation right are paid to the grantee of the conservation right; or

(3) the conservation right is released, terminated, or extinguished by the grantee of the conservation right without the consent of the owner of the property encumbered by the conservation right, provided that the owner of the encumbered property subsequently conveys or, in good faith and in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources, attempts to convey a new conservation right that encumbers the same property and qualifies for valuation under Section 10-166 within 12 months of the release, termination, or extinguishment of the prior conservation right.

(Source: P.A. 88-657, eff. 1-1-95; 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)

(35 ILCS 200/Art. 10 Div. 7 heading) Division 7. Coal

(35 ILCS 200/10-170)

Sec. 10-170. Valuation of coal. The equalized assessed value of each tract of real property constituting coal shall be determined under Sections 10-175 through 10-200.

(Source: P.A. 85-1359; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/10-175)

Sec. 10-175. Undeveloped coal. All undeveloped coal in property on which there has been no mining during the year immediately preceding the assessment date shall for the purposes of this Code have an undeveloped coal reserve economic value of no more than $75 per acre. There shall be no per acre undeveloped coal reserve economic value for persons not in the business of mining who have not severed the coal from the land by deed or lease.

(Source: P.A. 85-1359; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/10-180)

Sec. 10-180. Developed coal. Developed coal shall be assessed at 33 1/3% of the developed coal reserve economic value determined as follows:

Developed Coal Reserve Economic Value equals the present value of the anticipated net income from the property during the life used to determine the developed coal.

(a) The interest rate to be used for determining present value shall be the arithmetic average prime interest rate quoted by the 4 largest United States banks as measured by total assets located within the Chicago metropolitan statistical area as defined by the United States Department of Commerce as of the current assessment date and the 2 preceding assessment dates, plus 3%.

(b) Net income means 4% of the average spot market price for Illinois coal as published in a recognized publication prescribed by the Department, as of the current assessment date and the 2 preceding assessment dates, multiplied by the number of recoverable tons per acre.

(c) Recoverable coal tons per acre equals 1,742 tons per foot acre multiplied by seam thickness, and then multiplied by the recovery ratio.

(d) Coal seam thickness means the average thickness of the coal seam or seams where coal is initially extracted.

(e) Recovery ratio means the lesser of 80% for coal extracted by surface mining methods and 50% for coal extracted by underground mining methods or the actual historical recovery ratio for the mining operation.

(f) The total assessed value of developed coal shall be attributed equally to the coal acreage that is anticipated to be mined.

(g) Change in the per acre assessed value of coal shall not exceed 10% in any one year except when a change of acreage classification occurs.

(Source: P.A. 85-1359; 88-455.)