Public Act 90-0288 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0288
HB0572 Enrolled LRB9001143KDks
AN ACT in relation to taxes, amending named Acts.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.21 as follows:
(30 ILCS 805/8.21 new)
Sec. 8.21. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6
and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required
for the implementation of any mandate created by this
amendatory Act of 1997.
Section 10. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
Section 14-15 as follows:
(35 ILCS 200/14-15)
Sec. 14-15. Certificate of error; counties of 3,000,000
or more.
(a) In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, if,
at any time before judgment is rendered in any proceeding to
collect or to enjoin the collection of taxes based upon any
assessment of any property belonging to any taxpayer, the
county assessor discovers an error or mistake in the
assessment, the assessor shall execute a certificate setting
forth the nature and cause of the error. The certificate when
endorsed by the county assessor, or when endorsed by the
county assessor and board of appeals (until the first Monday
in December 1998 and the board of review beginning the first
Monday in December 1998 and thereafter) where the certificate
is executed for any assessment which was the subject of a
complaint filed in the board of appeals (until the first
Monday in December 1998 and the board of review beginning the
first Monday in December 1998 and thereafter) for the tax
year for which the certificate is issued, may be received in
evidence in any court of competent jurisdiction. When so
introduced in evidence such certificate shall become a part
of the court records, and shall not be removed from the files
except upon the order of the court.
A certificate executed under this Section may be issued
to the person erroneously assessed. A certificate executed
under this Section or a list of the parcels for which
certificates have been issued may be presented by the
assessor to the court as an objection in the application for
judgment and order of sale for the year in relation to which
the certificate is made. The State's Attorney of the county
in which the property is situated shall mail a copy of any
final judgment entered by the court regarding the certificate
to the taxpayer of record for the year in question.
Any unpaid taxes after the entry of the final judgment by
the court on certificates issued under this Section may be
included in a special tax sale, provided that an
advertisement is published and a notice is mailed to the
person in whose name the taxes were last assessed, in a form
and manner substantially similar to the advertisement and
notice required under Sections 21-110 and 21-135. The
advertisement and sale shall be subject to all provisions of
law regulating the annual advertisement and sale of
delinquent property, to the extent that those provisions may
be made applicable.
A certificate of error executed under this Section
allowing homestead exemptions under Sections 15-170, 15-172,
and 15-175 of this Act (formerly Sections 19.23-1 and
19.23-1a of the Revenue Act of 1939) not previously allowed
shall be given effect by the county treasurer, who shall mark
the tax books and, upon receipt of the following certificate
from the county assessor, shall issue refunds to the taxpayer
accordingly:
"CERTIFICATION
I, .................., county assessor, hereby certify
that the Certificates of Error set out on the attached
list have been duly issued to allow homestead exemptions
pursuant to Sections 15-170, 15-172, and 15-175 of the
Property Tax Code (formerly Sections 19.23-1 and 19.23-1a
of the Revenue Act of 1939) which should have been
previously allowed; and that a certified copy of the
attached list and this certification have been served
upon the county State's Attorney."
The county treasurer has the power to mark the tax books
to reflect the issuance of homestead certificates of error
issued to and including 3 years after the date on which the
annual judgment and order of sale for that tax year was first
entered from and including the due date of the tax bill for
the year for which the homestead exemption should have been
allowed until 2 years after the first day of January of the
year after the year for which the homestead exemption should
have been allowed. The county treasurer has the power to
issue refunds to the taxpayer as set forth above from and
including the first day of January of the year after the year
for which the homestead exemption should have been allowed
until all refunds authorized by this Section have been
completed.
The county treasurer has no power to issue refunds to the
taxpayer as set forth above unless the Certification set out
in this Section has been served upon the county State's
Attorney.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this Section shall be
construed to prohibit the execution, endorsement, issuance,
and adjudication of a certificate of error if (i) the annual
judgment and order of sale for the tax year in question is
reopened for further proceedings upon consent of the county
collector and county assessor, represented by the State's
Attorney, and (ii) a new final judgment is subsequently
entered pursuant to the certificate. This subsection (b)
shall be construed as declarative of existing law and not as
a new enactment.
(c) No certificate of error, other than a certificate to
establish an exemption under Section 14-25, shall be executed
for any tax year more than 3 years after the date on which
the annual judgment and order of sale for that tax year was
first entered.
(d) The time limitation of subsection (c) shall not
apply to a certificate of error correcting an assessment to
$1, under Section 10-35, on a parcel that a subdivision or
planned development has acquired by adverse possession, if
during the tax year for which the certificate is executed the
subdivision or planned development used the parcel as common
area, as defined in Section 10-35, and if application for the
certificate of error is made prior to December 1, 1997.
(Source: P.A. 88-225; 88-455; 88-660, eff. 9-16-94; 88-670,
eff. 12-2-94; 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff. 8-14-96.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.