Section 110.180  Supervisor of Assessments Examination

 

a)         Section 3-5 of the Property Tax Code [35 ILCS 200/3-5] requires, in addition to certain designation and experience criteria, that in order to be eligible for appointment or election to the office of Supervisor of Assessments a person must pass an examination conducted by the Department to determine his or her competence to hold office.  Eligibility must be met to be appointed, to file nomination papers, to be a candidate in a primary or general election, to be elected and to assume office.

 

b)         A person may take the Supervisor of Assessments examination in any county where it is given, and the results shall be valid in any county throughout the State.

 

c)         County Examination Requests in Counties that Appoint a Supervisor of Assessments:  If the presiding officer of the County Board intends to appoint a person to be Supervisor of Assessments who has not passed the Supervisor of Assessments examination within the requisite time, an examination administered by the Department shall be requested by the presiding officer of the County Board at least 21 days before an appointment is to be made.  Before requesting that a Supervisor of Assessments examination be administered in a county that appoints a Supervisor of Assessments, one of the three following criteria must be met:

 

1)         The current Supervisor of Assessments has died or submitted a resignation with an effective date.

 

2)         The County Board has voted to dismiss the current Supervisor of Assessments for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance.  In this case, the examination will be given after the 21 day dismissal appeal period if no hearing is requested by the current Supervisor of Assessments.  If a hearing is requested by the current Supervisor of Assessments pursuant to 35 ILCS 200/3-10, the examination will be scheduled only after the hearing and a final vote to dismiss the current Supervisor of Assessments.

 

3)         The presiding officer of the County Board has notified the current Supervisor of Assessments within 90 to 120 days prior to the expiration of his term that the presiding officer does not intend to reappoint the Supervisor of Assessments.

 

d)         County Examination Requests in Counties that Elect a Supervisor of Assessments:  A person who wants to be a candidate for elected Supervisor of Assessments in a county and who has not passed the Department examination within two years before the first day for filing nomination papers shall request at least 30 days before the first day for filing nomination petitions that the County Clerk request an examination be given by the Department.  If a person makes such a request, the County Clerk shall at least 21 days before the first day for filing nomination petitions request that the Department administer an examination.  The presiding officer of the County Board may request at least 21 days before the first day for filing nomination petitions that the Department give the examination, and if the presiding officer does so, the County Clerk need not duplicate the request.

 

e)         Examination Score

 

1)         A passing score of 70% or more correct will be valid for a two-year period commencing with the day the examination was taken.

 

2)         If a person re-takes the examination, the most current examination score supersedes any previous examination score and the two-year period will begin with the most recent date that the person took and received a passing score on the examination.

 

3)         In counties that appoint a Supervisor of Assessments, all persons certified to a county by the Department of Revenue as passing the examination shall be considered by that county as having met the examination requirements even though the two-year period may expire between the time the list in subsection (g) is certified and the actual appointment is made.  However, no list shall be valid for more than 120 days.  If a person verifies having passed the test by presenting a grade request form pursuant to subsection (f)(1)(A), the test must have been taken within two years before the date the appointment is made.

 

4)         In counties that elect a Supervisor of Assessments, a person presenting a grade request form pursuant to subsection (f)(2)(A) at the time his or her nomination papers are filed shall be considered as having met the examination requirements even though the two-year period may expire between the time the nomination papers are filed and the elected Supervisor of Assessments assumes office.  In such counties a person whose name appears on the list provided by the Department pursuant to subsection (f)(2)(B) shall be considered as having met the examination requirements even though the two-year period may expire between the first day nomination papers may be filed and the time an elected Supervisor of Assessments assumes office.

 

f)         Verification of Passing the Examination

 

1)         In counties that appoint a Supervisor of Assessments, verification that a person is certified as having passed the examination within the required time period shall be made by:

 

A)        The person presenting to the presiding officer of the County Board or his designee a grade request form signed by two Department examiners indicating the person received a grade of at least 70% on the examination within two years before the date of the appointment, or

 

B)        The person's name appearing on the list requested by the presiding officer of the County Board or his or her designee and provided by the Department pursuant to subsection (g).

 

2)         In counties that elect a Supervisor of Assessments, verification that a person is certified as having passed the examination within the required time period at the time the person files nomination papers shall be made by:

 

A)        The person presenting to the County Clerk or his or her designee a grade request form signed by two Department examiners indicating the person received a grade of at least 70% on the examination within two years before the date the nomination papers were filed, or

 

B)        The person's name appearing on the list requested by the County Clerk or his or her designee or the presiding officer of the County Board or his or her designee and provided by the Department pursuant to subsection (g).

 

g)         List of People Passing Examination

 

1)         The Department shall maintain a list of people who have passed the Supervisor of Assessments examination within the last two years.  Such list shall include each person's name, address, telephone number, and examination score.  A person who does not wish to be on the certified list for the county in which the exam is being given may sign a waiver to keep his or her name off that county's list.  A person who does not wish to be on any certified list may so request on the examination application.  A person who requests not to be on a list shall still receive a grade slip and, if a passing score was received, the grade slip signed by two Department examiners shall serve as proof of meeting the examination requirement for two years after the date of the examination.  A person who has passed the examination but has requested that his or her name not be on any list may later request to be placed on a list for the remainder of the two years following the date of the examination.

 

2)         The list of people with passing scores will be provided by the Department when there is a vacancy in the position of Supervisor of Assessments in a county that appoints a Supervisor of Assessments and the presiding officer of the County Board or his or her designee requests the list.  Additional updated lists may be provided until such time as the vacancy is filled.

 

3)         When a vacancy is filled by a permanent appointment to the position of Supervisor of Assessments, all lists previously provided to that county shall be considered void in that county, and the county shall obtain an updated list of people passing the examination to fill any future Supervisor of Assessments vacancies.  The appointment of an acting Supervisor of Assessments for 60 days does not void lists certified to the county to fill the current vacancy.

 

4)         The list of people with passing scores shall be provided by the Department before an election in a county that elects a Supervisor of Assessments when the County Clerk or his or her designee requests the list.  The list shall be requested at least 10 days before the first day that nomination petitions may be filed.  The request shall include the date on which nomination papers may first be filed, and the list shall include those who have passed the test within two years prior to that date.

 

h)         Location of Examinations

 

1)         The Supervisor of Assessments examinations shall be given in a county when the county requires an examination.  The examination may also be given on a regional basis, with locations and examination dates being determined by the Department.

 

2)         If an examination is scheduled based upon a county's request, the Department shall cancel the scheduled examination if a Supervisor of Assessments appointment is made from the Department's list prior to the examination date.  The County Clerk shall immediately notify the Department of the appointment.

 

i)          Publication Requirement

 

1)         The Department of Revenue is responsible for meeting the statutory publication requirements for all regional examinations.

 

2)         If the examination is conducted as a result of an individual county's request, then that county is responsible for meeting the statutory publication requirement.

 

3)         Proof of publication must be submitted to the Department at or before the examination.  If the publication requirement is not met by the county requesting an examination, the scores from that examination session shall be considered null and void.  Proof of publication shall consist of a copy of the notice and a statement of the date of publication.

 

4)         The published notice shall include the date, time, place and purpose of the examination, shall indicate that study materials are available and that the examination and facilities are accessible to handicapped individuals and shall indicate where application forms may be obtained.  The notice shall be published in a local newspaper of general circulation in the county at least seven days before the examination is given.

 

j)          Reappointment or Reelection

 

1)         An incumbent Supervisor of Assessments is not required to take and pass the Supervisor of Assessments examination to be eligible for reappointment or reelection, to be appointed if the county changes from an elected to an appointed Supervisor of Assessments or to be elected if a county changes from an appointed to an elected Supervisor of Assessments.

 

2)         A person currently holding the position of Supervisor of Assessments is not required to take and pass the Supervisor of Assessments examination to be appointed to and assume the office of Supervisor of Assessments in another county or to file nominating papers, to be a candidate in a primary or general election, to be elected and to assume the office of Supervisor of Assessments in another county.

 

(Source:  Amended at 31 Ill. Reg. 12994, effective August 21, 2007)