(35 ILCS 200/Art. 16 Div. 4 heading) Division 4. Property Tax Appeal Board

(35 ILCS 200/16-160)

Sec. 16-160. Property Tax Appeal Board; process. In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, beginning with assessments made for the 1996 assessment year for residential property of 6 units or less and beginning with assessments made for the 1997 assessment year for all other property, and for all property in any county other than a county with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, any taxpayer dissatisfied with the decision of a board of review or board of appeals as such decision pertains to the assessment of his or her property for taxation purposes, or any taxing body that has an interest in the decision of the board of review or board of appeals on an assessment made by any local assessment officer, may, (i) in counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants within 30 days after the date of written notice of the decision of the board of review or (ii) in assessment year 1999 and thereafter in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants within 30 days after the date of the board of review notice or within 30 days after the date that the board of review transmits to the county assessor pursuant to Section 16-125 its final action on the township in which the property is located, whichever is later, appeal the decision to the Property Tax Appeal Board for review. In any appeal where the board of review or board of appeals has given written notice of the hearing to the taxpayer 30 days before the hearing, failure to appear at the board of review or board of appeals hearing shall be grounds for dismissal of the appeal unless a continuance is granted to the taxpayer. If an appeal is dismissed for failure to appear at a board of review or board of appeals hearing, the Property Tax Appeal Board shall have no jurisdiction to hear any subsequent appeal on that taxpayer's complaint. Such taxpayer or taxing body, hereinafter called the appellant, shall file a petition with the clerk of the Property Tax Appeal Board, setting forth the facts upon which he or she bases the objection, together with a statement of the contentions of law which he or she desires to raise, and the relief requested. If a petition is filed by a taxpayer, the taxpayer is precluded from filing objections based upon valuation, as may otherwise be permitted by Sections 21-175 and 23-5. However, any taxpayer not satisfied with the decision of the board of review or board of appeals as such decision pertains to the assessment of his or her property need not appeal the decision to the Property Tax Appeal Board before seeking relief in the courts. The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly shall be effective beginning with the 1999 assessment year.

An association may, on behalf of all or several of the owners that constitute the association, file an appeal to the Property Tax Appeal Board or intervene in an appeal to the Property Tax Appeal Board filed by a taxing body. For purposes of this Section, "association" means: (1) a common interest community association, as that term is defined in Section 1-5 of the Common Interest Community Association Act; (2) a unit owners' association, as that term is defined in subsection (o) of Section 2 of the Condominium Property Act; or (3) a master association, as that term is defined in subsection (u) of Section 2 of the Condominium Property Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-1000, eff. 1-1-23.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-165)

Sec. 16-165. Forms for appeal. The Property Tax Appeal Board shall supply forms for appeal to the Boards of Review or Boards of Appeals. Each Board of Review or Board of Appeals shall provide such forms to each person or taxing body entitled to appeal a decision of the Board of Review or Board of Appeals.

(Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-671, eff. 8-14-96.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-170)

Sec. 16-170. Hearings. A hearing shall be granted if any party to the appeal so requests, and, upon motion of any party to the appeal or by direction of the Property Tax Appeal Board, any appeal may be set down for a hearing, with proper notice to the interested parties. Notice to all interested taxing bodies shall be deemed to have been given when served upon the State's Attorney of the county from which the appeal has been taken. Hearings may be held before less than a majority of the members of the Board, and the chairman may assign members or hearing officers to hold hearings. Such hearings shall be open to the public and shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of practice and procedure promulgated by the Board. The Board, any member or hearing officer may require the production of any books, records, papers or documents that may be material or relevant as evidence in any matter pending before it and necessary for the making of a just decision.

(Source: P.A. 76-689; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-175)

Sec. 16-175. Subpoenas. The Chairman of the Property Tax Appeal Board or his or her designee may issue subpoenas which shall be served by any person lawfully authorized to serve a subpoena under the laws of the State of Illinois. In case of disobedience to a subpoena, the Board may petition any circuit court of the State for an order requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses. Witnesses attending any hearing held by the Property Tax Appeal Board, pursuant to any subpoena, shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the circuit courts of the State.

(Source: P.A. 83-1250; 88-455.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-180)

Sec. 16-180. Procedure for determination of correct assessment. The Property Tax Appeal Board shall establish by rules an informal procedure for the determination of the correct assessment of property which is the subject of an appeal. The procedure, to the extent that the Board considers practicable, shall eliminate formal rules of pleading, practice and evidence, and except for any reasonable filing fee determined by the Board, may provide that costs shall be in the discretion of the Board. A copy of the appellant's petition shall be mailed or sent by electronic means by the clerk of the Property Tax Appeal Board to the board of review whose decision is being appealed. In all cases where a change in assessed valuation of $100,000 or more is sought, the board of review shall serve a copy of the petition on all taxing districts as shown on the last available tax bill. The chairman of the Property Tax Appeal Board shall provide for the speedy hearing of all such appeals. Each appeal shall be limited to the grounds listed in the petition filed with the Property Tax Appeal Board. All appeals shall be considered de novo and the Property Tax Appeal Board shall not be limited to the evidence presented to the board of review of the county. A party participating in the hearing before the Property Tax Appeal Board is entitled to introduce evidence that is otherwise proper and admissible without regard to whether that evidence has previously been introduced at a hearing before the board of review of the county. Where no complaint has been made to the board of review of the county where the property is located and the appeal is based solely on the effect of an equalizing factor assigned to all property or to a class of property by the board of review, the Property Tax Appeal Board shall not grant a reduction in assessment greater than the amount that was added as the result of the equalizing factor.

The provisions added to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be construed as declaratory of existing law and not as a new enactment.

(Source: P.A. 99-626, eff. 7-22-16.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-183)

Sec. 16-183. Compulsory sales. The Property Tax Appeal Board shall consider compulsory sales of comparable properties for the purpose of revising and correcting assessments, including those compulsory sales of comparable properties submitted by the taxpayer.

(Source: P.A. 96-1083, eff. 7-16-10.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-185)

Sec. 16-185. Decisions. The Board shall make a decision in each appeal or case appealed to it, and the decision shall be based upon equity and the weight of evidence and not upon constructive fraud, and shall be binding upon appellant and officials of government. The extension of taxes on any assessment so appealed shall not be delayed by any proceeding before the Board, and, in case the assessment is altered by the Board, any taxes extended upon the unauthorized assessment or part thereof shall be abated, or, if already paid, shall be refunded with interest as provided in Section 23-20.

The decision or order of the Property Tax Appeal Board in any such appeal, shall, within 10 days thereafter, be certified at no charge to the appellant and to the proper authorities, including the board of review or board of appeals whose decision was appealed, the county clerk who extends taxes upon the assessment in question, and the county collector who collects property taxes upon such assessment.

The final administrative decision of the Property Tax Appeal Board shall be deemed served on a party when a copy of the decision is: (1) deposited in the United States Mail, in a sealed package, with postage prepaid, addressed to that party at the address listed for that party in the pleadings; except that, if the party is represented by an attorney, the notice shall go to the attorney at the address listed in the pleadings; or (2) sent electronically to the party at the e-mail addresses provided for that party in the pleadings. The Property Tax Appeal Board shall allow each party to designate one or more individuals to receive electronic correspondence on behalf of that party and shall allow each party to change, add, or remove designees selected by that party during the course of the proceedings. Decisions and all electronic correspondence shall be directed to each individual so designated.

If the Property Tax Appeal Board renders a decision lowering the assessment of a particular parcel after the deadline for filing complaints with the board of review or board of appeals or after adjournment of the session of the board of review or board of appeals at which assessments for the subsequent year or years of the same general assessment period, as provided in Sections 9-215 through 9-225, are being considered, the taxpayer may, within 30 days after the date of written notice of the Property Tax Appeal Board's decision, appeal the assessment for such subsequent year or years directly to the Property Tax Appeal Board.

If the Property Tax Appeal Board renders a decision lowering the assessment of a particular parcel on which a residence occupied by the owner is situated, such reduced assessment, subject to equalization, shall remain in effect for the remainder of the general assessment period as provided in Sections 9-215 through 9-225, unless that parcel is subsequently sold in an arm's length transaction establishing a fair cash value for the parcel that is different from the fair cash value on which the Board's assessment is based, or unless the decision of the Property Tax Appeal Board is reversed or modified upon review.

(Source: P.A. 99-626, eff. 7-22-16; 100-216, eff. 8-18-17.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-190)

Sec. 16-190. Record of proceedings and orders.

(a) The Property Tax Appeal Board shall keep a record of its proceedings and orders and the record shall be a public record. In all cases where the contesting party is seeking a change of $100,000 or more in assessed valuation, the contesting party must provide a court reporter at his or her own expense. The original certified transcript of such hearing shall be forwarded to the Springfield office of the Property Tax Appeal Board and shall become part of the Board's official record of the proceeding on appeal. Each year the Property Tax Appeal Board shall publish a volume containing a synopsis of representative cases decided by the Board during that year. The publication shall be organized by or cross-referenced by the issue presented before the Board in each case contained in the publication. The publication shall be available for inspection by the public at the Property Tax Appeal Board offices and copies shall be available for a reasonable cost, except as provided in Section 16-191.

(b) The Property Tax Appeal Board shall provide annually, no later than February 1, to the Governor and the General Assembly a report that contains for each county the following:

(1) the total number of cases for commercial and industrial property requesting a reduction in assessed value of $100,000 or more for each of the last 5 years;

(2) the total number of cases for commercial and industrial property decided by the Property Tax Appeal Board for each of the last 5 years; and

(3) the total change in assessed value based on the Property Tax Appeal Board decisions for commercial property and industrial property for each of the last 5 years.

(c) The requirement for providing a report to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the following:

(1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(2) the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives;

(3) the Clerk of the House of Representatives;

(4) the President of the Senate;

(5) the Minority Leader of the Senate;

(6) the Secretary of the Senate;

(7) the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act; and

(8) the State Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly, as required by subsection (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.

(Source: P.A. 100-1148, eff. 12-10-18.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-191)

Sec. 16-191. Publications for Chief County Assessment Officers. The Property Tax Appeal Board shall annually distribute to each chief county assessment officer, free of charge, one copy of the volume published pursuant to Section 16-190 and one copy of any other publication produced by the Property Tax Appeal Board, upon request.

In addition, in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the Property Tax Appeal Board shall electronically distribute every 30 days to the chief county assessment officer, free of charge, appeal information containing the following:

(1) appeal year and appeal docket number;

(2) Property Tax Appeal Board class and requested level of reduction;

(3) appellant name;

(4) permanent index number or numbers;

(5) scheduled hearing dates;

(6) final assessed value determined by the Property Tax Appeal Board;

(7) date case closed at Property Tax Appeal Board;

(8) reason for action;

(9) intervenor name; and

(10) intervenor representatives.

(Source: P.A. 93-248, eff. 7-22-03.)

(35 ILCS 200/16-195)

Sec. 16-195. Review of decisions. Final administrative decisions of the Property Tax Appeal Board are subject to review under the provisions of the Administrative Review Law, except that in every case where a change in assessed valuation of $300,000 or more was sought, that review shall be afforded directly in the Appellate Court for the district in which the property involved in the Board's decision is situated, and not in the circuit court. The Property Tax Appeal Board shall certify the record of its proceedings only if the taxpayer or other entity seeking review under the Administrative Review Law pays to it for each page of legal size or smaller, the sum of 75¢ per page for testimony taken before the Board and 25¢ per page for all other matters contained in the record, and for any page larger than legal size the sum of $1, except that these charges may be waived when the Board is satisfied that the aggrieved party cannot afford to pay such charges. There shall be no charge to the taxpayer or other entity for certification by the Property Tax Appeal Board of any pages of the record which are furnished for inclusion in the record by the taxpayer or other entity seeking review. If payment for the record is not made by the taxpayer or other entity within 30 days after notice from the Board or the Attorney General of the cost thereof, the court in which the proceeding is pending, on motion of the Board, shall dismiss the complaint.

(Source: P.A. 87-1189; 88-455.)