Court decision could affect Illinois hospital tax exemptions

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - An Illinois appellate court has ruled unconstitutional part of a 2012 law allowing Illinois hospitals to avoid paying property taxes.

The Illinois 4th District Appellate Court ruling was filed Tuesday and first reported by The News-Gazette in Champaign. The mayor of the central Illinois city of Urbana is celebrating the ruling, which may lead to a hospital system paying local taxes worth millions of dollars.

Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing tells The Associated Press she anticipates the Carle Foundation health system to appeal the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Prussing says when the law passed, Carle was suddenly relieved of paying $6.5 million a year in property taxes. Most of that went to the city.

The city will try to recapture the money the hospital would have paid since 2012.