Public Act 097-0521
 
SB1386 EnrolledLRB097 08026 HLH 48148 b

    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
Section 20-175 as follows:
 
    (35 ILCS 200/20-175)
    Sec. 20-175. Refund for erroneous assessments or
overpayments.
    (a) If any property is twice assessed for the same year, or
assessed before it becomes taxable, and the erroneously
assessed taxes have been paid either at sale or otherwise, or
have been overpaid by the same claimant or by different
claimants, the County Collector, upon being satisfied of the
facts in the case, shall refund the taxes to the proper
claimant. When the County Collector is unable to determine the
proper claimant, the circuit court, on petition of the person
paying the taxes, or his or her agent, and being satisfied of
the facts in the case, shall direct the county collector to
refund the taxes and deduct the amount thereof, pro rata, from
the moneys due to taxing bodies which received the taxes
erroneously paid, or their legal successors. Pleadings in
connection with the petition provided for in this Section shall
conform to that prescribed in the Civil Practice Law. Appeals
may be taken from the judgment of the circuit court, either by
the county collector or by the petitioner, as in other civil
cases. A claim for refund shall not be allowed unless a
petition is filed within 5 years from the date the right to a
refund arose. If a certificate of error results in the
allowance of a homestead exemption not previously allowed, the
county collector shall pay the taxpayer interest on the amount
of taxes paid that are attributable to the amount of the
additional allowance, at the rate of 6% per year. To cover the
cost of interest, the county collector shall proportionately
reduce the distribution of taxes collected for each taxing
district in which the property is situated.
    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in Cook
County a claim for refund under this Section is also allowed if
the application therefor is filed between September 1, 2011 and
September 1, 2012 and the right to a refund arose more than 5
years prior to the date the application is filed but not
earlier than January 1, 2000. The Cook County Treasurer, upon
being satisfied of the facts in the case, shall refund the
taxes to the proper claimant and shall proportionately reduce
the distribution of taxes collected for each taxing district in
which the property is situated. Refunds under this subsection
shall be paid in the order in which the claims are received.
The Cook County Treasurer shall not accept a claim for refund
under this subsection before September 1, 2011. For the
purposes of this subsection, the Cook County Treasurer shall
accept a claim for refund by mail or in person. In no event
shall a refund be paid under this subsection if the issuance of
that refund would cause the aggregate total of taxes and
interest refunded for all claims under this subsection to
exceed $350,000. The Cook County Treasurer shall notify the
public of the provisions of this subsection on the Treasurer's
website. A home rule unit may not regulate claims for refunds
in a manner that is inconsistent with this Act. This Section is
a limitation of home rule powers under subsection (i) of
Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
(Source: P.A. 83-121; 85-468; 88-455.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/23/2011