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REVENUE
(35 ILCS 200/) Property Tax Code.

35 ILCS 200/Art. 12 Div. 1

 
    (35 ILCS 200/Art. 12 Div. 1 heading)
Division 1. Initial Assessment Process

35 ILCS 200/12-5

    (35 ILCS 200/12-5)
    Sec. 12-5. Taxpayer entitled to statement of valuation. The chief county assessment officer, when requested, shall deliver to any person a copy of the description or statement of property assessed in his or her name or in which he or she is interested, and the valuation placed thereon by the assessor, chief county assessment officer, board of review, or board of appeals.
(Source: Laws 1939, p. 886; P.A. 88-455.)

35 ILCS 200/12-10

    (35 ILCS 200/12-10)
    Sec. 12-10. Publication of assessments; counties of less than 3,000,000. In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, as soon as the chief county assessment officer has completed the assessment in the county or in the assessment district, he or she shall, in each year of a general assessment, publish for the county or assessment district a complete list of the assessment, by townships if so organized. In years other than years of a general assessment, the chief county assessment officer shall publish a list of property for which assessments have been added or changed since the preceding assessment, together with the amounts of the assessments, except that publication of individual assessment changes shall not be required if the changes result from equalization by the supervisor of assessments under Section 9-210, or Section 10-200, in which case the list shall include a general statement indicating that assessments have been changed because of the application of an equalization factor and shall set forth the percentage of increase or decrease represented by the factor. The publication shall be made on or before December 31 of that year, and shall be printed in some public newspaper or newspapers published in the county. In every township or assessment district in which there is published one or more newspapers of general circulation, the list of that township shall be published in one of the newspapers.
    At the top of the list of assessments there shall be a notice in substantially the following form printed in type no smaller than eleven point:
"NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS
    Median Level of Assessment--(insert here the median level of assessment for the assessment district)
    Your property is to be assessed at the above listed median level of assessment for the assessment district. You may check the accuracy of your assessment by dividing your assessment by the median level of assessment. The resulting value should equal the estimated fair cash value of your property. If the resulting value is greater than the estimated fair cash value of your property, you may be over-assessed. If the resulting value is less than the fair cash value of your property, you may be under-assessed. You may appeal your assessment to the Board of Review."
    The notice published under this Section shall also include the following:
        (1) A statement advising the taxpayer that
    
assessments of property, other than farm land and coal, are required by law to be assessed at 33 1/3% of fair market value.
        (2) The name, address, phone number, office hours,
    
and, if one exists, the website address of the assessor.
        (3) A statement advising the taxpayer of the steps to
    
follow if the taxpayer believes the full fair market value of the property is incorrect or believes the assessment is not uniform with other comparable properties in the same neighborhood. The statement shall also (i) advise all taxpayers to contact the township assessor's office, in those counties under township organization, first to review the assessment, (ii) advise all taxpayers to file an appeal with the board of review if not satisfied with the assessor review, and (iii) give the phone number to call for a copy of the board of review rules; if the Board of Review maintains a web site, the notice must also include the address of the website where the Board of Review rules can be viewed.
        (4) A statement advising the taxpayer that there is a
    
deadline date for filing an appeal with the board of review and indicating that deadline date (30 days following the scheduled publication date).
        (5) A brief explanation of the relationship between
    
the assessment and the tax bill.
        (6) In bold type, a notice of possible eligibility
    
for the various homestead exemptions as provided in Section 15-165 through Section 15-175 and Section 15-180.
    The newspaper shall furnish to the local assessment officers as many copies of the paper containing the assessment list as they may require.
(Source: P.A. 97-146, eff. 7-14-11.)

35 ILCS 200/12-15

    (35 ILCS 200/12-15)
    Sec. 12-15. Publication fee - Counties of less than 3,000,000. The newspaper shall be paid a fee for publishing the assessment list according to the following schedule:
    (a) For a parcel listing including the name of the property owner, a property index number, property address, or both, and the total assessment, 80¢ per parcel;
    (b) (Blank);
    (c) (Blank);
    (d) (Blank);
    (e) (Blank);
    (f) (Blank); and
    (g) For the preamble, headings, and any other explanatory matter either required by law, or requested by the supervisor of assessments, to be published, the rate shall be set according to the Legal Advertising Rate Act.
(Source: P.A. 97-146, eff. 7-14-11.)

35 ILCS 200/12-20

    (35 ILCS 200/12-20)
    Sec. 12-20. Publication of assessments; counties of 3,000,000 or more. In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, in each year of a general assessment, for each county or assessment district therein if the county is divided into assessment districts as provided in Section 9-220, the county assessor shall publish a complete assessment list as soon as the assessment is completed as required under this Section. If the county assessor revises the assessment after the complete assessment list is published, then the county assessor must publish a subsequent list of all the revised assessments for that year. In years other than years of a general assessment or reassessment, the county assessor shall cause to be published, within the time and in the manner described here, a complete list of assessments in which changes are made together with the changes made in the valuation or assessment of property since the last preceding assessment. The publication shall contain a copy of the land value map for the township, if required by the Department.
    The publication of the assessments or the changes shall be printed in some newspaper or newspapers of general circulation published in the county except that, in every township or incorporated town which has superseded a civil township, in which there is published one or more newspapers of general circulation, the assessment list of each township shall be published in one of the newspapers. In cities of more than 2,000,000 inhabitants, the assessment list of the city shall be printed in one or more newspapers of general circulation published in the township assessment district within the city or, in the event a newspaper of general circulation is not published within the township assessment district, in one or more newspapers of general circulation published within the city.
    Any newspaper publishing an assessment list under this Section is entitled to a fee of 40¢ per column line for publishing the list.
(Source: P.A. 93-759, eff. 1-1-05.)

35 ILCS 200/12-25

    (35 ILCS 200/12-25)
    Sec. 12-25. Contents of assessment list publication; payment. In all counties, the expense of printing and publication of assessment lists shall be paid out of the county treasury. The publication of the assessments shall include the name of the owner or of the person who last paid the taxes on each property, and the total amount of its assessment. When any property so assessed is susceptible of description or identification by street name and street or house number, or by a property index number, the publication of the street name and street or house number, or property index number shall constitute a sufficient description of the property for the purposes of publication required by this Code.
(Source: P.A. 97-146, eff. 7-14-11.)

35 ILCS 200/12-30

    (35 ILCS 200/12-30)
    Sec. 12-30. Mailed notice of changed assessments; counties of less than 3,000,000.
    (a) In every county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, in addition to the publication of the list of assessments in each year of a general assessment and of the list of property for which assessments have been added or changed, as provided above, a notice shall be mailed by the chief county assessment officer to each taxpayer whose assessment has been changed since the last preceding assessment, using the address as it appears on the assessor's records, except in the case of changes caused by a change in the county equalization factor by the Department or in the case of changes resulting from equalization by the chief county assessment officer under Section 9-210, during any year such change is made. The notice may, but need not be, sent by a township assessor.
    (b) The notice sent under this Section shall include the following:
        (1) The previous year's assessed value after board of
    
review equalization.
        (2) Current assessed value and the date of that
    
valuation.
        (3) The percentage change from the previous assessed
    
value to the current assessed value.
        (4) The full fair market value (as indicated by
    
dividing the current assessed value by the median level of assessment in the assessment district as determined by the most recent 3 year assessment to sales ratio study adjusted to take into account any changes in assessment levels since the data for the studies were collected).
        (5) A statement advising the taxpayer that
    
assessments of property, other than farm land and coal, are required by law to be assessed at 33 1/3% of fair market value.
        (6) The name, address, phone number, office hours,
    
and, if one exists, the website address of the assessor.
        (7) Where practicable, the notice shall include the
    
reason for any increase in the property's valuation.
        (8) The name and price per copy by mail of the
    
newspaper in which the list of assessments will be published and the scheduled publication date.
        (9) A statement advising the taxpayer of the steps to
    
follow if the taxpayer believes the full fair market value of the property is incorrect or believes the assessment is not uniform with other comparable properties in the same neighborhood. The statement shall also (i) advise all taxpayers to contact the township assessor's office, in those counties under township organization, first to review the assessment, (ii) advise all taxpayers to file an appeal with the board of review if not satisfied with the assessor review, and (iii) give the phone number to call for a copy of the board of review rules.
        (10) A statement advising the taxpayer that there is
    
a deadline date for filing an appeal with the board of review and indicating that deadline date (30 days following the scheduled publication date).
        (11) A brief explanation of the relationship between
    
the assessment and the tax bill (including an explanation of the equalization factors) and an explanation that the assessment stated for the preceding year is the assessment after equalization by the board of review in the preceding year.
        (12) In bold type, a notice of possible eligibility
    
for the various homestead exemptions as provided in Section 15-165 through Section 15-175 and Section 15-180.
    (c) In addition to the requirements of subsection (b) of this Section, in every county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, where the chief county assessment officer maintains and controls an electronic database containing the physical characteristics of the property, the notice shall include the following:
        (1) The physical characteristics of the taxpayer's
    
property that are available from that database; or
        (2) A statement advising the taxpayer that detailed
    
property characteristics are available on the county website and the URL address of that website.
    (d) In addition to the requirements of subsection (b) of this Section, in every county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, where the chief county assessment officer does not maintain and control an electronic database containing the physical characteristics of the property, and where one or more townships in the county maintain and control an electronic database containing the physical characteristics of the property and some or all of the database is available on a website that is maintained and controlled by the township, the notice shall include a statement advising the taxpayer that detailed property characteristics are available on the township website and the URL address of that website.
    (e) Except as provided in this Section, the form and manner of providing the information and explanations required to be in the notice shall be prescribed by the Department.
(Source: P.A. 96-122, eff. 1-1-10.)

35 ILCS 200/12-35

    (35 ILCS 200/12-35)
    Sec. 12-35. Notice sent to address of mortgage lender. Whenever a notice is to be mailed as provided in Section 12-30, and the address that appears on the assessor's records is the address of a mortgage lender, or in any event whenever the notice is mailed by the township assessor or chief county assessment officer to a taxpayer at or in care of the address of a mortgage lender, the mortgage lender, within 15 days of the mortgage lender's receipt of the notice, shall mail a copy of the notice to each mortgagor of the property referred to in the notice at the last known address of each mortgagor as shown on the records of the mortgage lender.
(Source: P.A. 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)