Last week a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by a group of seven Cook County taxpayers challenging the time it has taken to adjudicate their claims in the Cook County Circuit […]
Category: Property Tax
Records Containing Only Facts Are Not Subject to Section 7(1)(f) Predecisional Exemption
July 16, 2018
Recently, an Illinois Court of Appeals issued a decision mandating disclosure of assessment records from the Cook County Assessor’s Office to the Chicago Tribune under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). In this case, Chicago Tribune Company v. Cook County Assessor’s Office, […]
Final 2017 Cook County Equalization Factor Released
June 1, 2018
The Illinois Department of Revenue has released the final 2017 Cook County equalization factor. The multiplier for 2017 is 2.9627. The press release from the Department of Revenue is available here. As the following chart demonstrates, the final Cook County equalization factors have […]
Today, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral argument in Oswald v. Beard, a case challenging the constitutionality of the statute exempting most hospitals from paying anyproperty taxes. This is the latest episode in the long-running legal and political battle over hospital […]
Highly Critical Study Calls Out Cook County Property Assessments
February 19, 2018
Last Friday, the Civic Consulting Alliance (CCA) released a study that calls into question the fairness of the property tax assessment system for Cook County for residential properties. The study, commissioned last July by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle […]
Governor Rauner Issues Executive Order Precluding State Legislators from Practicing Before Property Tax Appeal Board
January 22, 2018
This past Friday, Governor Bruce Rauner issued Executive Order 2018—01 entitled “Executive Order to Eliminate Impermissible Conflicts of Interest at the Property Tax Appeal Board”. The Order states that the PTAB “shall allow no State legislator to participate in any […]
Illinois Courts are currently examining several different aspects of property tax exemptions, all of which impact the revenues of school districts and other units of local government. Most notably, the Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to […]
A recent article in Education Week has caught the attention of many local educators. The article, available here, discusses a national trend in property tax assessment appeals that can have devastating effects on school district budgets. The issue is a recent […]