103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3719

 

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 200/9-20
35 ILCS 200/16-8
35 ILCS 200/16-105
35 ILCS 200/23-15

    Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, where assessment records are presently maintained in electronic format, the township assessor, multi-township assessor, or chief county assessment officer shall make those records available for immediate public inspection through Internet access. Provides that where assessment records, or some of them, are not presently maintained in electronic format, the township assessor, multi-township assessor, or chief county assessment officer shall convert all assessment records into electronic format and maintain those records in that format. Provides that those records shall be made available for immediate public inspection, preferably through Internet access. Contains provisions concerning requests for assessment records. In provisions providing that property records shall contain the elements (or basis) of valuation and computations that are taken into consideration by the chief county assessment officer in determining the fair cash value of property, provides that those elements include, but are not limited to, capitalization rates and tax loads, rental income data and any adjustments thereto, ratios of expenses to income, net income, vacancy and collection loss, reproduction or replacement cost calculators or manuals, physical, functional, and economic depreciation or obsolescence, and comparable sales and sales adjustment factors. Contains provisions concerning tax objections in the circuit court. Repeals provisions providing that the circuit court shall consider tax objections concerning valuation without regard to the correctness of any practice, procedure, or method of valuation followed by the assessor, board of appeals, or board of review in making or reviewing the assessment, and without regard to the intent or motivation of any assessing official. Effective immediately.


LRB103 30264 HLH 56692 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3719LRB103 30264 HLH 56692 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
5Sections 9-20, 16-8, 16-105, and 23-15 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 200/9-20)
7    Sec. 9-20. Property assessment records record cards.
8    (a) In all counties, all property records record cards
9maintained by a township assessor, multi-township assessor, or
10chief county assessment officer shall be public records, and
11shall be available for public inspection during business
12hours, subject to reasonable rules and regulations of the
13custodian of the records. Upon request and payment of such
14reasonable fee established by the custodian, a copy or
15printout shall be provided to any person.
16    (b) Property assessment records record cards may be
17established and maintained on electronic equipment or
18microfiche, and that system may be the exclusive record of
19property information. Where assessment records are presently
20maintained in electronic format, the township assessor,
21multi-township assessor, or chief county assessment officer
22shall make those records available for immediate public
23inspection through Internet access. Where assessment records,

 

 

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1or some of them, are not presently maintained in electronic
2format, the township assessor, multi-township assessor, or
3chief county assessment officer shall, as soon as may be
4feasible, convert all assessment records into electronic
5format and maintain those records in that format thereafter,
6and shall, as soon as feasible, make those records available
7for immediate public inspection, preferably through Internet
8access.
9    (c) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in
10an electronic format, the custodian of the records shall
11furnish it in the electronic format specified by the
12requester, if feasible. If it is not feasible to furnish the
13records in the specified electronic format, then the custodian
14shall furnish it in the format in which it is maintained by the
15assessor or chief county assessment officer or in paper format
16at the option of the requester. The assessor or chief county
17assessment officer may charge the requester for the actual
18cost of purchasing the recording medium, whether disc,
19diskette, tape or other medium. The requester may not be
20charged for the costs of any search and review of the records
21or other personnel costs associated with reproducing the
22records, except that charges may be made in cases of
23commercial requests as provided in subsection (f) of Section 6
24of the Freedom of Information Act.
25    (d) "Commercial request" has the meaning provided in the
26Freedom of Information Act, provided that any request made by

 

 

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1a taxpayer or the taxpayer's legal representative for purposes
2of reviewing or challenging the accuracy, legality, or
3constitutionality of the taxpayer's assessment or other
4assessments in relation to such a review or challenge shall
5not be considered to be a commercial request.
6(Source: P.A. 83-1312; 88-455.)
 
7    (35 ILCS 200/16-8)
8    Sec. 16-8. Books and records of chief county assessment
9officer.
10    (a) In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the
11chief county assessment officer shall maintain records of the
12assessed value of each parcel of property and shall enter upon
13appropriate the property records record card of each town or
14city lot or parcel of land the elements (or basis) of valuation
15and computations that are taken into consideration by the
16chief county assessment officer in ascertaining and
17determining the fair cash value of each town or city lot or
18parcel of land and improvements of each improvement thereon,
19including the basic approach (cost, sales comparison, or
20income) used to estimate the value of the property, and all
21other elements or factors (shown by percentages or otherwise)
22that were taken into consideration in determining the fair
23cash value of each parcel of property, including, but not
24limited to, capitalization rates and tax loads, rental income
25data and any adjustments thereto, ratios of expenses to

 

 

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1income, net income, vacancy and collection loss, reproduction
2or replacement cost calculators or manuals, physical,
3functional, and economic depreciation or obsolescence, and
4comparable sales and sales adjustment factors. The disclosure
5of the elements (or basis) of valuation on the assessment
6records shall be sufficient to explain how the fair cash value
7and the assessment of each parcel of property was estimated
8and determined by the chief county assessment officer as
9enhancing or detracting elements (such as depth, corner,
10alley, railway or other elements). The assessment officer
11shall maintain the records for at least 10 years. Upon request
12by the board of appeals (until the first Monday in December
131998 and the board of review beginning the first Monday in
14December 1998 and thereafter), the officer shall immediately
15furnish all of the requested records to the board. The records
16shall be available, on request, to the taxpayer at any time, as
17provided in Section 9-20. The chief county assessment officer
18shall certify, in writing, the amount of the assessment to the
19board. If the records maintained by the chief county
20assessment officer at the time the assessment is certified to
21the board and at all times thereafter do not disclose under
22subsection (a) contain none of the elements (or basis) of
23valuation for the parcel sufficiently to explain how the
24valuation of that parcel was determined, then any increase by
25the chief county assessment officer shall be considered
26invalid by the board of review, the Property Tax Appeal Board,

 

 

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1or the circuit court acting on a complaint under this Code
2Section 16-120; and no action by the board of review under
3Section 16-120 shall result in an increase in the valuation
4for the parcel for the current assessment year.
5    (b) In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the
6notice given by the chief county assessment officer to a
7taxpayer of a proposed increase in assessment shall designate
8the reason for the increase. If a taxpayer files an assessment
9complaint with the chief county assessment officer, the
10notification to the taxpayer of a determination on the
11assessment complaint shall designate the reason for the
12result.
13    (c) The provisions of this Section shall be applicable
14beginning with the assessment for the 1997 tax year.
15(Source: P.A. 89-718, eff. 3-7-97; 90-4, eff. 3-7-97.)
 
16    (35 ILCS 200/16-105)
17    Sec. 16-105. Time of meeting - Public records. In counties
18with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the board of appeals
19(until the first Monday in December 1998 and the board of
20review beginning the first Monday in December 1998 and
21thereafter) shall meet on or before the second Monday in
22September in each year for the purpose of revising the
23assessment of property as provided for in this Code. The
24meeting may be adjourned from day to day as may be necessary.
25    All hearings conducted by the board under this Code shall

 

 

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1be open to the public. All files maintained by the board
2relating to the matters specified in Sections 16-95, 16-100,
3and 16-140 shall be available for public inspection during
4regular office hours. However, only the actual portions of the
5income tax return relating to the property for which a
6complaint has been filed shall be a public record. Copies of
7such records shall be furnished upon request in the same
8manner and upon the same terms as is provided with respect to
9assessment records under Section 9-20. Whenever possible, all
10such records shall be maintained by the board of review in
11electronic format and shall be made available for immediate
12public inspection, preferably through internet access. The
13board may charge for the costs of copying, at 35¢ per page of
14legal size or smaller and $1 for each larger page.
15(Source: P.A. 88-455; 89-126, eff. 7-11-95; 89-671, eff.
168-14-96.)
 
17    (35 ILCS 200/23-15)
18    Sec. 23-15. Tax objection procedure and hearing.
19    (a) A tax objection complaint under Section 23-10 shall be
20filed in the circuit court of the county in which the subject
21property is located. Joinder of plaintiffs shall be permitted
22to the same extent permitted by law in any personal action
23pending in the court and shall be in accordance with Section
242-404 of the Code of Civil Procedure; provided, however, that
25no complaint shall be filed as a class action. The complaint

 

 

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1shall name the county collector as defendant and may name
2additional defendants as appropriate to the issues, and shall
3specify any objections that the plaintiff may have to the
4taxes in question. No appearance or answer by the county
5collector to the tax objection complaint, nor any further
6pleadings, need be filed. Amendments to the complaint may be
7made to the same extent which, by law, could be made in any
8personal action pending in the court. Answers, motions, and
9other matters related to pleadings shall be in accordance with
10the Code of Civil Procedure, provided that: (1) the county
11collector need not appear or answer or otherwise plead in
12response to the complaint except by order of the court; (2) the
13court shall set by rule or order the initial time for other
14defendants to answer or otherwise plead in response to the
15complaint; and (3) in all cases in which the issues require the
16collector to answer or otherwise plead in response to the
17complaint, the court shall set by order the initial time for
18such answer or other response. The time set for answers or
19other responses shall be no later than 30 days after the
20court's entry of the first case management order or after
21joinder of a defendant subsequent to the first case management
22order.
23    (b) (1) The court, sitting without a jury, shall hear and
24determine all objections specified to the taxes, assessments,
25or levies in question. This Section shall be construed to
26provide a complete remedy for any claims with respect to those

 

 

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1taxes, assessments, or levies, excepting only matters for
2which an exclusive remedy is provided elsewhere in this Code.
3    (2) The taxes, assessments, and levies that are the
4subject of the objection shall be presumed correct and legal,
5but the presumption is rebuttable. The plaintiff has the
6burden of proving any contested matter of fact is by clear and
7convincing evidence.
8    (3) Objections to assessments shall be heard de novo by
9the court. The court shall grant relief in the cases in which
10the objector meets the burden of proof under this Section and
11shows an assessment to be incorrect or illegal. If an
12objection is made claiming incorrect valuation, the court
13shall consider the objection without regard to the correctness
14of any practice, procedure, or method of valuation followed by
15the assessor, board of appeals, or board of review in making or
16reviewing the assessment, and without regard to the intent or
17motivation of any assessing official. The doctrine known as
18constructive fraud is hereby abolished for purposes of all
19challenges to taxes, assessments, or levies.
20    (c) If the court orders a refund of any part of the taxes
21paid, it shall also order the payment of interest as provided
22in Section 23-20. Appeals may be taken from final judgments as
23in other civil cases.
24    (d) This amendatory Act of 1995 shall apply to all tax
25objection matters still pending for any tax year, except as
26provided in Sections 23-5 and 23-10 regarding procedures and

 

 

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1time limitations for payment of taxes and filing tax objection
2complaints.
3    (e) In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if
4the court renders a decision lowering the assessment of a
5particular parcel on which a residence occupied by the owner
6is situated, the reduced assessment, subject to equalization,
7shall remain in effect for the remainder of the general
8assessment period as provided in Sections 9-215 through 9-225,
9unless that parcel is subsequently sold in an arm's length
10transaction establishing a fair cash value for the parcel that
11is different from the fair cash value on which the court's
12assessment is based, or unless the decision of the court is
13reversed or modified upon review.
14(Source: P.A. 88-455; 88-642, eff. 9-9-94; 89-126, eff.
157-11-95; 89-290, eff. 1-1-96; 89-593, eff. 8-1-96; 89-626,
16eff. 8-9-96.)
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.