Arbitrary courts in Illinois

Recently the 2nd District appellate court (Elgin) ruled that the Lake County circuit court was justified in affirming the Property Tax Appeal Board’s (PTAB) decision to ignore the constitutional provisions of uniformity and equal protection afforded to taxpayers. The Cuba Township assessor testified that its office had not conducted the quadrennial assessments required by the Property Tax Code to maintain uniformity, but it made no difference to the courts as it permitted a 58 percent increase in assessment in 2005 and another 27.5 percent increase in 2007. Although this scenario is similar to Albee v. Soat (2000), where this very court ruled it was unconstitutional to do so — times have changed. The Attorney General’s Office represents PTAB in the courts (a conflict of interest as its chief duty is to uphold Illinois law and citizens’ rights) and it was permitted to bring a nearly identical case (that it lost) before the Supreme Court, which upheld the law in Walsh v. PTAB (1998).

A “Petition For Appeal As A Matter Of Right” (Rule 317) has been set before the Supreme Court, but it is unlikely the court will allow it due to Illinois’ politics, which contributed to the financial debacle in this state and has rendered the law to a “permissive” rather than authoritative legislation as Illinois scrambles for funds regardless of the means. The public interest to fair taxation has been betrayed by our only recourse to justice, yet again.

Phillip Moll

Barrington