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91_SB0035enr SB35 Enrolled LRB9101536PTpk 1 AN ACT to amend the Property Tax Code by changing 2 Sections 5-5, 12-50, 14-15, 16-95, 16-125, and 16-160 and 3 adding Section 20-178. 4 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 5 represented in the General Assembly: 6 Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing 7 Sections 5-5, 12-50, 14-15, 16-95, 16-125, and 16-160 and 8 adding Section 20-178 as follows: 9 (35 ILCS 200/5-5) 10 Sec. 5-5. Election of board of review; counties of 11 3,000,000 or more. 12 (a) In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, on 13 the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 1994, 2 14 commissioners of the board of appeals shall be elected to 15 hold office from the first Monday in December following their 16 election and until the first Monday in December 1998. In case 17 of any vacancy, the chief judge of the circuit court or any 18 judge of that circuit designated by the chief judge shall 19 fill the vacancy by appointment. The commissioners shall be 20 electors in the particular county at the time of their 21 election or appointment and shall hold no other lucrative 22 public office or public employment. Each commissioner shall 23 receive compensation fixed by the county board, which shall 24 be paid out of the county treasury and which shall not be 25 changed during the term for which any commissioner is elected 26 or appointed. Effective the first Monday in December 1998, 27 the board of appeals is abolished. 28 The board of appeals shall maintain sufficient 29 evidentiary records to support all decisions made by the 30 board of appeals. All records, data, sales/ratio studies, 31 and other information necessary for the board of review SB35 Enrolled -2- LRB9101536PTpk 1 elected under subsection (c) to perform its functions and 2 duties shall be transferred by the board of appeals to the 3 board of review on the first Monday in December 1998. 4 (b) (Blank). 5 (c) In each county with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, 6 there is created a board of review. The board of review shall 7 consist of 3 members, one elected from each election district 8 in the county at the general election in 1998 to hold office 9 for a term beginning on the first Monday in December 10 following their election and until their respective 11 successors are elected and qualified. 12 No later than June 1, 1996, the General Assembly shall 13 establish the boundaries for the 3 election districts in each 14 county with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants. The election 15 districts shall be compact, contiguous, and have 16 substantially the same population based on the 1990 federal 17 decennial census. One district shall be designated as the 18 first election district, one as the second election district, 19 and one as the third election district. The member from each 20 district shall be elected to a term of 4 years. 21 In the year following each federal decennial census, the 22 General Assembly shall reapportion the election districts to 23 reflect the results of the census. The reapportioned 24 districts shall be compact, contiguous, and contain 25 substantially the same population. The member from the first 26 district shall be elected to terms of 4 years, 4 years, and 2 27 years. The member from the second district shall be elected 28 to terms of 4 years, 2 years, and 4 years. The member from 29 the third district shall be elected to terms of 2 years, 4 30 years, and 4 years. 31 In case of vacancy, the chief judge of the circuit court 32 or any judge of the circuit court designated by the chief 33 judge shall fill the vacancy by appointment of a person from 34 the same political party. If the vacancy is filled with more SB35 Enrolled -3- LRB9101536PTpk 1 than 28 months remaining in the term, the appointed member 2 shall serve until the next general election, at which time a 3 member shall be elected to serve for the remainder of the 4 term. If a vacancy is filled with 28 months or less remaining 5 in the term, the appointment shall be for the remainder of 6 the term. The members shall be electors within their 7 respective election district at the time of their election or 8 appointment and shall hold no other lucrative public office 9 or public employment. 10 Each member shall receive compensation fixed by the 11 county board, which shall be paid from the county treasury. 12 Compensation for each member shall be equitable and shall not 13 be changed during the term for which that member is elected 14 or appointed. The county shall provide suitable office space 15 for the board of review. 16 For the year beginning on the first Monday in December 17 1998 and ending the first Monday in December 1999, and every 18 fourth year thereafter, the chair of the board shall be the 19 member elected from the first district. For the year 20 beginning the first Monday in December 1999 and ending the 21 first Monday in December 2000, and every fourth year 22 thereafter, the chair of the board shall be the member 23 elected from the second district. For the year beginning the 24 first Monday in December 2000 and ending the first Monday in 25 December 2001, and every fourth year thereafter, the chair 26 shall be the member elected from the third district. For the 27 year beginning the first Monday in December 2001 and ending 28 the first Monday in December 2002, and every fourth year 29 thereafter, the chair of the board shall be determined by 30 lot. 31 On and after the first Monday in December, 1998, any 32 reference in this Code to a board of appeals shall mean the 33 board of review created under this subsection. Whenever it 34 may be necessary for purposes of determining its SB35 Enrolled -4- LRB9101536PTpk 1 jurisdiction, the board of review shall be deemed to succeed 2 to the powers and duties of the former board of appeals; 3 provided that the board of review shall also have all of the 4 powers and duties granted to it under this Code. All action 5 of the board of review shall be by a majority vote of its 6 members. 7 (Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff. 8 8-14-96.) 9 (35 ILCS 200/12-50) 10 Sec. 12-50. Mailed notice to taxpayer after change by 11 board of review or board of appeals. If final board of 12 review or board of appeals action regarding any property, 13 including equalization under Section 16-60 or Section 16-65, 14 results in an increased or decreased assessment, the board 15 shall mail a notice to the taxpayer, at his or her address as 16 it appears in the assessment records, whose property is 17 affected by such action, and in the case of a complaint filed 18 with a board of review under Section 16-25 or 16-115, to the 19 taxing body filing the complaint. A copy shall be given to 20 the assessor or chief county assessment officer if his or her 21 assessment was reversed or modified by the board. Written 22 notice shall also be given to any taxpayer who filed a 23 complaint in writing with the board and whose assessment was 24 not changed. The notice shall set forth the assessed value 25 prior to board action; the assessed value after final board 26 action but prior to any equalization; and the assessed value 27 as equalized by the board, if the board equalizes. This 28 notice shall state that the value as certified to the county 29 clerk by the board will be the locally assessed value of the 30 property for that year and each succeeding year, unless 31 revised in a succeeding year in the manner provided in this 32 Code. The written notice shall also set forth specifically 33 the facts upon which the board's decision is based. In SB35 Enrolled -5- LRB9101536PTpk 1 counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the noticeand2shall also contain the following statement: "You may appeal 3 this decision to the Property Tax Appeal Board by filing a 4 petition for review with the Property Tax Appeal Board within 5 30 days after this notice is mailed to you or your agent, or 6 is personally served upon you or your agent"; except that, in7counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants the statement8shall be included in the written notice (i) for residential9property with 6 units or less beginning with assessments made10for the 1996 assessment year and (ii) for all other property11in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants beginning with12assessments made for the 1997 assessment year. In counties 13 with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the notice shall also 14 contain the following statement: "You may appeal this 15 decision to the Property Tax Appeal Board by filing a 16 petition for review with the Property Tax Appeal Board within 17 30 days after the date of this notice or within 30 days after 18 the date that the Board of Review transmits to the county 19 assessor pursuant to Section 16-125 its final action on the 20 township in which your property is located, whichever is 21 later". The Board shall publish its transmittal date of final 22 action on each township in at least one newspaper of general 23 circulation in the county. The changes made by this 24 amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly apply to the 1999 25 assessment year and thereafter. 26 (Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff. 27 8-14-96.) 28 (35 ILCS 200/14-15) 29 Sec. 14-15. Certificate of error; counties of 3,000,000 30 or more. 31 (a) In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, if, 32 after the assessment is certified pursuant to Section 16-150, 33 but subject to the limitations of subsection (c) of this SB35 Enrolled -6- LRB9101536PTpk 1 Section,at any time before judgment is rendered in any2proceeding to collect or to enjoin the collection of taxes3based upon any assessment of any property belonging to any4taxpayer,the county assessor discovers an error or mistake 5 in the assessment, the assessor shall execute a certificate 6 setting forth the nature and cause of the error. The 7 certificate when endorsed by the county assessor, or when 8 endorsed by the county assessor and board of appeals (until 9 the first Monday in December 1998 and the board of review 10 beginning the first Monday in December 1998 and thereafter) 11 where the certificate is executed for any assessment which 12 was the subject of a complaint filed in the board of appeals 13 (until the first Monday in December 1998 and the board of 14 review beginning the first Monday in December 1998 and 15 thereafter) for the tax year for which the certificate is 16 issued, may, either be certified according to the procedure 17 authorized by this Section or be presented and received in 18 evidence in any court of competent jurisdiction. 19 Certification is authorized, at the discretion of the county 20 assessor, for: (1) certificates of error allowing homestead 21 exemptions pursuant to Sections 15-170, 15-172, and 15-175; 22 (2) certificates of error on residential property of 6 units 23 or less; (3) certificates of error allowing exemption of the 24 property pursuant to Section 14-25; and (4) other 25 certificates of error reducing assessed value by less than 26 $100,000. Any certificate of error not certified shall be 27 presented to the court. The county assessor shall develop 28 reasonable procedures for the filing and processing of 29 certificates of error. Prior to the certification or 30 presentation to the court, the county assessor or his or her 31 designee shall execute and include in the certificate of 32 error a statement attesting that all procedural requirements 33 pertaining to the issuance of the certificate of error have 34 been met and that in fact an error exists. When so introduced SB35 Enrolled -7- LRB9101536PTpk 1 in evidence such certificate shall become a part of the court 2 records, and shall not be removed from the files except upon 3 the order of the court. 4 Certificates of error that will be presented to the court 5 shall be filedA certificate executed under this Section may6be issued to the person erroneously assessed. A certificate7executed under this Section or a list of the parcels for8which certificates have been issued may be presented by the9assessor to the courtas 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 18thecertificate 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 certifiedexecutedunder this 32 Sectionallowing homestead exemptions under Sections 15-170,3315-172, and 15-175 of this Act (formerly Sections 19.23-1 and3419.23-1a of the Revenue Act of 1939) not previously allowedSB35 Enrolled -8- LRB9101536PTpk 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 certificatescertificatefrom 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 assessmentallow homestead exemptions pursuant to12Sections 15-170, 15-172, and 15-175 of the Property Tax13Code (formerly Sections 19.23-1 and 19.23-1a of the14Revenue Act of 1939) which should have been previously15allowed; and that a certified copy of the attached list16and this certification have been served upon the county17State'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 ofhomesteadcertificates 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 SB35 Enrolled -9- LRB9101536PTpk 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 To the extent that the certificate of error obviates the 5 liability for nonpayment of taxes, certification of a 6 certificate of error according to the procedure authorized in 7 this Section shall operate to vacate any judgment or 8 forfeiture as to that year's taxes, and the warrant books and 9 judgment books shall be marked to reflect that the judgment 10 or forfeiture has been vacated. 11The county treasurer has no power to issue refunds to the12taxpayer as set forth above unless the Certification set out13in this Section has been served upon the county State's14Attorney.15 (b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this Section shall be 16 construed to prohibit the execution, endorsement, issuance, 17 and adjudication of a certificate of error if (i) the annual 18 judgment and order of sale for the tax year in question is 19 reopened for further proceedings upon consent of the county 20 collector and county assessor, represented by the State's 21 Attorney, and (ii) a new final judgment is subsequently 22 entered pursuant to the certificate. This subsection (b) 23 shall be construed as declarative of existing law and not as 24 a new enactment. 25 (c) No certificate of error, other than a certificate to 26 establish an exemption under Section 14-25, shall be executed 27 for any tax year more than 3 years after the date on which 28 the annual judgment and order of sale for that tax year was 29 first entered. 30 (d) The time limitation of subsection (c) shall not 31 apply to a certificate of error correcting an assessment to 32 $1, under Section 10-35, on a parcel that a subdivision or 33 planned development has acquired by adverse possession, if 34 during the tax year for which the certificate is executed the SB35 Enrolled -10- LRB9101536PTpk 1 subdivision or planned development used the parcel as common 2 area, as defined in Section 10-35, and if application for the 3 certificate of error is made prior to December 1, 1997. 4 (e) The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 91st 5 General Assembly apply to certificates of error issued 6 before, on, and after the effective date of this amendatory 7 Act of the 91st General Assembly. 8 (Source: P.A. 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff. 8-14-96; 9 90-4, eff. 3-7-97; 90-288, eff. 8-1-97; 90-655, eff. 10 7-30-98.) 11 (35 ILCS 200/16-95) 12 Sec. 16-95. Powers and duties of board of appeals or 13 review; complaints. In counties with 3,000,000 or more 14 inhabitants, until the first Monday in December 1998, the 15 board of appeals in any year shall, on complaint that any 16 property is overassessed or underassessed, or is exempt, 17 review and order the assessment corrected. 18 Beginning the first Monday in December 1998 and 19 thereafter, in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, 20 the board of review: 21 (1) shall, onuponwritten complaint of any 22 taxpayer,or any taxing district that has an interest in 23 the assessment,that any property is overassessed, 24 underassessed, or exempt, review the assessment and 25 confirmupon good cause shown, revise, correct, alter, or 26 modify theanyassessment, as appears to be just(or part27of an assessment) of any real property; nothing in this28Section, however, shall be construed to require a29taxpayer to file a complaint with the board; and 30 (2) may, upon written motion of any one or more 31 members of the board that is made on or before the dates 32 specified in notices given under Section 16-110 for each 33 township and upon good cause shown, revise, correct, SB35 Enrolled -11- LRB9101536PTpk 1 alter, or modify any assessment (or part of an 2 assessment) of real property regardless of whether the 3 taxpayer or owner of the property has filed a complaint 4 with the board. 5An assessment shall not be increased until the6person to be affected has been notified and given an7opportunity to be heard. Before making any reduction in8assessments of its own motion, the board shall give9notice to the assessor orNo assessment may be changed by 10 the board on its own motion until the taxpayer in whose 11 name the property is assessed and the chief county 12 assessment officer who certified the assessment have been 13 notified and given, and give the assessor or chief county14assessment officeran opportunity to be heard thereon. 15 All taxing districts shall have an opportunity to be 16 heard on the matter. 17 (Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff. 18 8-14-96.) 19 (35 ILCS 200/16-125) 20 Sec. 16-125. Hearings. In counties with 3,000,000 or 21 more inhabitants, complaints filed with the board of appeals 22 (until the first Monday in December 1998 and the board of 23 review beginning the first Monday in December 1998 and 24 thereafter) shall be classified by townships. All complaints 25 shall be docketed numerically, in the order in which they are 26 presented, as nearly as possible, in books or computer 27 records kept for that purpose, which shall be open to public 28 inspection. The complaints shall be considered by townships 29 until they have been heard and passed upon by the board. 30 After completing final action on all matters in a township, 31 the board shall transmit such final actions to the county 32 assessor. 33 A hearing upon any complaint shall not be held until the SB35 Enrolled -12- LRB9101536PTpk 1 taxpayer affected and the county assessor have each been 2 notified and have been given an opportunity to be heard. All 3 hearings shall be open to the public and the board shall sit 4 together and hear the representations of the interested 5 parties or their representatives. An order for a correction 6 of any assessment shall not be made unless both commissioners 7 of the board, or a majority of the members in the case of a 8 board of review, concur therein, in which case, an order 9 therefor shall be made in open session and entered in the 10 records of the board. When an assessment is ordered 11 corrected, the board shall transmit a computer printout of 12 the results, or make and sign a brief written statement of 13 the reason for the change and the manner in which the method 14 used by the assessor in making the assessment was erroneous, 15 and shall deliver a copy of the statement to the county 16 assessor. Upon request the board shall hear any taxpayer in 17 opposition to a proposed reduction in any assessment. 18 The board may destroy or otherwise dispose of complaints 19 and records pertaining thereto after the lapse of 10 years 20 from the date of filing. 21 (Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff. 22 8-14-96.) 23 (35 ILCS 200/16-160) 24 Sec. 16-160. Property Tax Appeal Board; process. In 25 counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, beginning with 26 assessments made for the 1996 assessment year for residential 27 property of 6 units or less and beginning with assessments 28 made for the 1997 assessment year for all other property, and 29 for all property in any county other than a county with 30 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, any taxpayer dissatisfied with 31 the decision of a board of review or board of appeals as such 32 decision pertains to the assessment of his or her property 33 for taxation purposes, or any taxing body that has an SB35 Enrolled -13- LRB9101536PTpk 1 interest in the decision of the board of review or board of 2 appeals on an assessment made by any local assessment 3 officer, may, (i) in counties with less than 3,000,000 4 inhabitants within 30 days after the date of written notice 5 of the decision of the board of review or (ii) in assessment 6 year 1999 and thereafter in counties with 3,000,000 or more 7 inhabitants within 30 days after the date of the board of 8 review notice or within 30 days after the date that the board 9 of review transmits to the county assessor pursuant to 10 Section 16-125 its final action on the township in which the 11 property is located, whichever is laterBoard of Appeals, 12 appeal the decision to the Property Tax Appeal Board for 13 review. In any appeal where the board of review or board of 14 appeals has given written notice of the hearing to the 15 taxpayer 30 days before the hearing, failure to appear at the 16 board of review or board of appeals hearing shall be grounds 17 for dismissal of the appeal unless a continuance is granted 18 to the taxpayer. If an appeal is dismissed for failure to 19 appear at a board of review or board of appeals hearing, the 20 Property Tax Appeal Board shall have no jurisdiction to hear 21 any subsequent appeal on that taxpayer's complaint. Such 22 taxpayer or taxing body, hereinafter called the appellant, 23 shall file a petition with the clerk of the Property Tax 24 Appeal Board, setting forth the facts upon which he or she 25 bases the objection, together with a statement of the 26 contentions of law which he or she desires to raise, and the 27 relief requested. If a petition is filed by a taxpayer, the 28 taxpayer is precluded from filing objections based upon 29 valuation, as may otherwise be permitted by Sections 21-175 30 and 23-5. However, any taxpayer not satisfied with the 31 decision of the board of review or board of appeals as such 32 decision pertains to the assessment of his or her property 33 need not appeal the decision to the Property Tax Appeal Board 34 before seeking relief in the courts. The changes made by this SB35 Enrolled -14- LRB9101536PTpk 1 amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly shall be 2 effective beginning with the 1999 assessment year. 3 (Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff. 4 8-14-96.) 5 (35 ILCS 200/20-178 new) 6 Sec. 20-178. Certificate of error; refund; interest. 7 When the county collector makes any refunds due on 8 certificates of error issued under Sections 14-15 through 9 14-25 that have been either certified or adjudicated, the 10 county collector shall pay the taxpayer interest on the 11 amount of the refund at the rate of 0.5% per month. 12 No interest shall be due under this Section for any time 13 prior to 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory 14 Act of the 91st General Assembly. For certificates of error 15 issued prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 16 the 91st General Assembly, the county collector shall pay the 17 taxpayer interest from 60 days after the effective date of 18 this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly until the 19 date the refund is paid. For certificates of error issued on 20 or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 21 91st General Assembly, interest shall be paid from 60 days 22 after the certificate of error is issued by the chief county 23 assessment officer to the date the refund is made. To cover 24 the cost of interest, the county collector shall 25 proportionately reduce the distribution of taxes collected 26 for each taxing district in which the property is situated. 27 This Section shall not apply to any certificate of error 28 granting a homestead exemption under Section 15-170, 15-172, 29 or 15-175. 30 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 31 becoming law.