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Stay current on industry issues with daily news from Illinois REALTORS®, network with other professionals, attend a seminar, and keep up with industry trends through events throughout the year.
In addition to one active Call for Action, the Illinois Association of REALTORS® is showing its support for one other House bill and one other Senate bill.
Tomorrow is the last day these bills can be voted upon in their original chamber.
As reported in the Illinois State Capitol Report last Friday, House Bill 3693, sponsored by Rep. Jay Hoffman of Belleville, grants Belleville Township the authority to discontinue and be abolished. The township would transfer all its rights, powers, duties, assets, property, liabilities, obligations and responsibilities to the city of Belleville. After passing the House last week, proponents are seeking Senate approval. The Belleville city council will have to approve it, too.
Senate Bill 1612, sponsored by Sen. Pamela Althoff of McHenry, requires the township assessor or chief county assessment officer in counties of more than 300,000 (except Cook) to provide a copy of the description or statement of property assessed in his/her name (or in which he/she holds ownership interest) and the valuation placed on that property by the assessor for the most recent taxable year upon request of a taxpayer. The bill was unanimously approved in the Senate last week, and needs House approval.
SB 1612 also requires that the description of the property must include the method by which the assessment was derived, the comparable properties used to reach the assessment or to substantiate the assessment given, and other information which explains the method in which the assessment was reached. In lieu of a description of the method, the township assessor may include the equalization factors applied to the property and an explanation of how equalization affects the assessment.
This bill also makes other changes, including requiring a board of review to publish guidelines for residential property appeals (published on board’s or county’s website) and the requirement that the board of review, if requested, to provide a written explanation to the township assessor or the chief county assessment officer setting forth the board’s reasoning for an assessment reduction for reductions that occur as a result of an appeal. A list of assessments reduced from the township assessor’s valuation in the aggregate by class of property, organized by township, must be published on the county’s website.
Watch for more information on these and other bills in future issues of the IAR State Capitol Report.
