(35 ILCS 200/10-40)
    Sec. 10-40. Historic Residence Assessment Freeze Law; definitions. This Section and Sections 10-45 through 10-85 may be cited as the Historic Residence Assessment Freeze Law. As used in this Section and Sections 10-45 through 10-85:
        (a) "Director" means the Director of Historic
    
Preservation.
        (b) "Approved county or municipal landmark ordinance"
    
means a county or municipal ordinance approved by the Director.
        (c) "Historic building" means an owner-occupied
    
single family residence or an owner-occupied multi-family residence and the tract, lot or parcel upon which it is located, or a building or buildings owned and operated as a cooperative, if:
            (1) individually listed on the National Register
        
of Historic Places or the Illinois Register of Historic Places;
            (2) individually designated pursuant to an
        
approved county or municipal landmark ordinance; or
            (3) within a district listed on the National
        
Register of Historic Places or designated pursuant to an approved county or municipal landmark ordinance, if the Director determines that the building is of historic significance to the district in which it is located.
    Historic building does not mean an individual unit of a
    
cooperative.
        (d) "Assessment officer" means the chief county
    
assessment officer.
        (e) "Certificate of rehabilitation" means the
    
certificate issued by the Director upon the renovation, restoration, preservation or rehabilitation of an historic building under this Code.
        (f) "Rehabilitation period" means the period of time
    
necessary to renovate, restore, preserve or rehabilitate an historic building as determined by the Director.
        (g) "Standards for rehabilitation" means the
    
Secretary of Interior's standards for rehabilitation as promulgated by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
        (h) "Fair cash value" means the fair cash value of
    
the historic building, determined on the basis of the assessment officer's property record card, representing the value of the property prior to the commencement of rehabilitation without consideration of any reduction reflecting value during the rehabilitation work.
        (i) "Base year valuation" means the fair cash value
    
of the historic building for the year in which the rehabilitation period begins but prior to the commencement of the rehabilitation and does not include any reduction in value during the rehabilitation work.
        (j) "Adjustment in value" means the difference for
    
any year between the then current fair cash value and the base year valuation.
        (k) "Eight-year valuation period" means the 8 years
    
from the date of the issuance of the certificate of rehabilitation.
        (l) "Adjustment valuation period" means the 4 years
    
following the 8 year valuation period.
        (m) "Substantial rehabilitation" means interior or
    
exterior rehabilitation work that preserves the historic building in a manner that significantly improves its condition.
        (n) "Approved local government" means a local
    
government that has been certified by the Director as:
            (1) enforcing appropriate legislation for the
        
designation of historic buildings;
            (2) having established an adequate and qualified
        
historic review commission;
            (3) maintaining a system for the survey and
        
inventory of historic properties;
            (4) providing for adequate public participation
        
in the local historic preservation program; and
            (5) maintaining a system for reviewing
        
applications under this Section in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Director.
        (o) "Cooperative" means a building or buildings and
    
the tract, lot, or parcel on which the building or buildings are located, if the building or buildings are devoted to residential uses by the owners and fee title to the land and building or buildings is owned by a corporation or other legal entity in which the shareholders or other co-owners each also have a long-term proprietary lease or other long-term arrangement of exclusive possession for a specific unit of occupancy space located within the same building or buildings.
        (p) "Owner", in the case of a cooperative, means the
    
Association.
        (q) "Association", in the case of a cooperative,
    
means the entity responsible for the administration of a cooperative, which entity may be incorporated or unincorporated, profit or nonprofit.
        (r) "Owner-occupied single family residence" means a
    
residence in which the title holder of record (i) holds fee simple ownership and (ii) occupies the property as his, her, or their principal residence.
        (s) "Owner-occupied multi-family residence" means
    
residential property comprised of not more than 6 living units in which the title holder of record (i) holds fee simple ownership and (ii) occupies one unit as his, her, or their principal residence. The remaining units may be leased.
    The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly are declarative of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment.
(Source: P.A. 90-114, eff. 1-1-98; 91-806, eff. 1-1-01.)