Leveling the playing field at board of review hearings

By James W. Chipman

While the appeal process now includes more transparency, understanding the best way to proceed and succeed often requires the assistance of a trusted property tax attorney.

Each county in Illinois has a three-member panel called the board of review, which acts as an intermediary between township assessors and taxpayers. Boards hear and decide assessment complaints after giving taxpayers an opportunity to be heard. They also make rules so that the appeal process is orderly and fair.

In the past, however, the process might have seemed anything but fair to property owners or attorneys who showed up for a board hearing only to learn that a taxing district had intervened or that the assessor had evidence supporting his value in the appeal. It’s no wonder this practice became widely known as “hearing by ambush.” Fortunately, things have changed.

FAIR IS FAIR

Public Act 99-0098, which took effect on January 1, 2016, allows taxpayers to take some comfort in knowing that everyone is now playing by the same set of rules. PA 99-0098 requires taxing districts to file a notice to intervene at least five days prior to a hearing. In addition, if the board of review requires the taxpayer to submit evidence in advance, any evidence supporting the assessor’s or intervenor’s value must be submitted at least five days before the hearing to the board and the property owner or their attorney.

PA 99-0098 also applies the mailbox rule to boards of review. This is a rule of contract law that says an offer is considered accepted at the time the acceptance is mailed. Under PA 99-0098, documents sent by US mail or another delivery service are considered filed as of the postmark date or the shipper’s tracking label or in the case of email, the date the correspondence is sent. This law, however, does not apply in Cook County.

FURTHER ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

While PA 99-0098 makes the process more fair and balanced, taxpayers still face additional challenges. Boards of review aren’t obligated to correct an assessment even if the complaining taxpayer has proven their case. All they are required to do is review an assessment and change it “as appears to be just.”* Taxpayers that are denied relief must go one step further and either file a lawsuit in court or appeal to the state Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB)—but you can’t do both.

A property tax attorney who is skilled in the appeal process can explain the pros and cons of going either to court or the PTAB. They’ll also have valuable insight about the filing deadlines, burdens of proof, expected turnaround times and the types of evidence that are likely to succeed in each venue.

* Source: 35 ILCS 200/16-55 (a)

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