Last Friday the Illinois Department of Revenue released the final 2016 Cook County equalization factor, which will be used to calculate the second installment property tax bills that are anticipated to be due in August 2017....more
The issue of school funding reform is being addressed on many fronts this year. In Springfield, proponents of funding reform and the evidence based model continue their efforts at legislative change. Meanwhile, school...more
The Illinois Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Carle Foundation v. Cunningham Township, the case involving the constitutionality of the statute granting hospitals a special property tax exemption. In remanding this case...more
Recently, there have been several noteworthy developments in the controversy surrounding property tax exemptions for Illinois hospitals. For the past decade we’ve been providing updates as this issue progressed through the...more
At the end of 2016, the Illinois appellate court reversed and remanded a PTAB decision that excluded one party’s evidence because the appraiser who authored the appraisal died prior to the hearing. The case at issue, 1411...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently upheld a trial court’s ruling that property tax refunds from a dissolved TIF District must be paid by the municipality, not by the other affected taxing agencies. The case, Village of...more
The Department of Education (DOE) recently released the Safe Place to Learn resource package, providing schools with a variety of materials aimed at eliminating student-on-student sexual harassment and sexual violence. The...more
While overall there is little activity in the General Assembly, the House Revenue Committee is meeting today for a hearing on an interesting piece of property tax legislation. The hearing is on HB4363, which would create the...more
For the first time in seven years, the trend line for assessed value in Cook County is pointing up. Beginning with the 2008 assessment year when we began tracking this data, assessed values have steadily, sometimes...more
Effective June 30, 2016, the Open Meetings Act (OMA) has been amended to allow elected board members, or those appointed to fill vacancies on the board, to access closed session recordings and minutes. Access must be granted...more
Last Thursday the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a special property tax exemption for a single aeronautical services company operating out of the Quad City International Airport. As noted in the July 2015 FR Alert...more
You can add one more lawsuit to the mountain of litigation concerning how and when Illinois hospitals are entitled to a property tax exemption. Earlier this month a limited partnership filed a class action lawsuit naming...more
On Thursday, the Illinois Department of Revenue released the final 2015 Cook County equalization factor. The multiplier for 2015 is 2.6685.
As the following chart demonstrates, the final Cook County equalization...more
Recently, Fair and Equitable Magazine published an article on the topic of the valuation and assessment appeals of big box stores, which make up a large volume of cases before the Property Tax Appeal Board and valuation...more
Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) that will be used in the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) limiting rate calculations for 2016...more
A new chapter has been added to the long saga of property tax exemptions for hospitals in Illinois. Last week, an Illinois Appellate Court struck down as unconstitutional Section 15-86 of the Property Tax Code, which created...more
In a 46-page decision issued yesterday by the 4th District Appellate Court, a recently enacted provision of the Illinois Property Tax Code, Section 15-86, has been found unconstitutional. Section 15-86 created a separate...more
With property tax levy season in full swing, assessed values and new property values are of major importance to board members and finance officials. For the seventh year we have obtained and analyzed Cook County assessment...more
Last week, an Illinois Appellate Court denied several school districts’ attempt to vacate a settlement agreement between the taxpayers’ attorney and the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office in a tax rate objection case. The...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently upheld the actions of a city council in its establishment and implementation of a TIF district (Devyn Corp. v. City of Bloomington). In this case, the Court addressed the adequacy of a...more
In Palos Bank & Trust Co. v. Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, the First District Appellate Court upheld the dismissal of a complaint for administrative review of a PTAB decision due to the taxpayer’s failure to properly...more
An Illinois Appellate Court recently upheld the actions of a city council in its establishment and implementation of a TIF district through the Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act, (Devyn Corp v. City of Bloomington)....more
A property tax exemption designed to benefit a single aviation company was recently found unconstitutional by the Illinois Appellate Court. The exemption was only for fixed base operators (FBOs) providing aeronautical...more
Yesterday the Cook County Clerk’s Office released the tax rates that will be used for the 2014 tax bills. Again this year, Cook County tax bills will go out on time. Tax bills are expected to be issued on July 1 with a due...more
The Illinois Department of Revenue has released the tentative 2014 Cook County equalization factor. The preliminary factor is 2.6922. Prior year equalization factors are summarized...more