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    AN ACT concerning revenue, which may be cited as the 
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Homestead Assessment Transparency Act.

 
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    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
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represented in the General Assembly:



 
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    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended  by changing 
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Section 12-30 and by adding Sections 6-60 and 9-213 as follows:
 
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    (35 ILCS 200/6-60 new)

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    Sec. 6-60. Rules and procedures.  The board of review in 
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every county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants must make 
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available to the public a detailed description of the rules and 
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procedures for hearings before the board. This description must 
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include an explanation of any applicable burdens of proof, 
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rules of evidence, timelines, and any other procedures that 
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will allow the taxpayer to effectively present his or her case 
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before the board. If a county Internet website exists, the 
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rules and procedures must also be published on that website.
 
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    (35 ILCS 200/9-213 new)

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    Sec. 9-213. Explanation of equalization factors.  The chief 
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county assessment officer in every county with less than 
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3,000,000 inhabitants must provide a plain-English explanation 
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of all township, county, and State equalization factors, 
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including the rationale and methods used to determine the 
 


 






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equalizations. If a county Internet website exists, this 
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explanation must be published thereon, otherwise it must be 
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available to the public upon request at the office of the chief 
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county assessment officer.
 



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    (35 ILCS 200/12-30)


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    Sec. 12-30. Mailed notice of changed assessments; counties 
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of less than
3,000,000.  
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    (a) In every county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, 
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in addition to
the publication of the list of assessments in 
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each year of a general assessment
and of the list of property 
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for which assessments have been added or changed,
as provided 
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above, a notice shall be mailed by the chief county assessment

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officer to each taxpayer whose assessment has been changed 
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since the last
preceding assessment, using the address as it 
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appears on the assessor's
records, except in the case of 
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changes caused by a change in the county
equalization factor by 
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the Department or in the case of changes resulting
from 
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equalization by the chief county assessment officer supervisor 
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of assessments under Section 9-210,
during any year such change 
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is made. The notice may, but need not be, sent by a
township 
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assessor.
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    (b)  The notice sent under this Section shall include the 
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following:
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        (1) The previous year's assessed value after board of 
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    review equalization.
 


 






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        (2) Current assessed value and the date of that 
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    valuation.
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        (3) The percentage change from the previous assessed 
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    value to the current assessed value.
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        (4) The full fair market value (as indicated by 
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    dividing the current assessed value by the median level of 
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    assessment in the assessment district as determined by the 
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    most recent 3 year assessment to sales ratio study adjusted 
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    to take into account any changes in assessment levels since 
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    the data for the studies were collected).
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        (5) A statement advising the taxpayer that assessments 
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    of property, other than farm land and coal, are required by 
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    law to be assessed at 33 1/3% of fair market value.
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        (6) The name, address, phone number, office hours, and, 
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    if one exists, the website address of the assessor.
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        (7) Where practicable, the notice shall include the 
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    reason for any increase in the property's valuation.
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        (8) The name and price per copy by mail of the 
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    newspaper in which the list of assessments will be 
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    published and the scheduled publication date.
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        (9) A statement advising the taxpayer of the steps to 
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    follow if the taxpayer believes the full fair market value 
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    of the property is incorrect or believes the assessment is 
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    not uniform with other comparable properties in the same 
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    neighborhood. The statement shall also (i) advise all 
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    taxpayers to  contact the township assessor's office, in 
 


 






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    those counties under township organization, first to 
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    review the  assessment, (ii) advise all taxpayers to  file an 
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    appeal with the board of review if not satisfied with the 
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    assessor review, and (iii) give the phone number to call 
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    for a copy of the board of review rules.
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        (10) A statement advising the taxpayer that there is a 
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    deadline date for filing an appeal with the board of review 
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    and indicating  that deadline date (30 days following the 
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    scheduled publication date).
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        (11) A brief explanation of the relationship between 
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    the assessment and the tax bill (including an explanation 
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    of the equalization factors) and an explanation that the 
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    assessment stated for the preceding year is the assessment 
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    after equalization by the board of review in the preceding 
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    year.
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        (12)  In bold type, a notice of possible eligibility for 
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    the
    various homestead exemptions as provided in Section 
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    15-165
    through Section 15-175 and Section 15-180.
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    (c) In addition to the requirements of subsection (b) of 
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this Section, in every county with less than 3,000,000 
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inhabitants, where the chief county assessment officer 
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maintains and controls an electronic database containing the 
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physical characteristics of the property, the notice shall 
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include the following:
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        (1) The physical characteristics of the taxpayer's 
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    property that are available from that database; or
 


 






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        (2) A statement advising the taxpayer that detailed 
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    property characteristics are available on the county 
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    website and the URL address of that website.
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    (d) In addition to the requirements of subsection (b) of 
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this Section, in every county with less than 3,000,000 
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inhabitants, where the chief county assessment officer does not 
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maintain and control an electronic database containing the 
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physical characteristics of the property, and where one or more 
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townships in the county maintain and control an electronic 
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database containing the physical characteristics of the 
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property and some or all of the database is available on a 
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website that is maintained and controlled by the township, the 
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notice shall include a statement advising the taxpayer that 
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detailed property characteristics are available on the 
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township website and the URL address of that website.
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    (e) Except as provided in this Section, the form and manner 
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of
providing the information and explanations required to be in 
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the notice shall
be prescribed by the Department. 
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    The notice shall include the median level of assessment in

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the assessment district (as determined by the most recent 3 
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year assessment to
sales ratio study adjusted to take into 
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account any changes in assessment
levels since the data for the 
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studies were collected), the previous year's
assessed value 
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after board of review equalization, current assessed value and,

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in bold type, a notice of possible eligibility for a homestead 
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improvement
exemption as provided in Section 15-180.

 


 






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    The notice shall include a statement in substantially the 
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following form:

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"NOTICE TO TAXPAYER


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    Your property is to be assessed at the median level of 
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assessment for
your assessment district.  You may check the 
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accuracy of your assessment
by dividing your assessment by the 
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median level of assessment for your
assessment district.  If the 
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resulting value is greater than the estimated fair
cash value 
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of your property, you may be over-assessed. If the resulting 
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value
is less than the estimated fair cash value of your 
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property, you may be
under-assessed.  You may appeal your 
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assessment to the Board of Review in the
manner described 
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elsewhere in this notice."

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    The notice shall contain a brief explanation of the 
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relationship between the
assessment and the tax bill (including 
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an explanation of the equalization
factors) and an explanation 
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that the assessment stated for the preceding year
is the 
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assessment after equalization by the board of review in the 
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preceding
year, and shall set forth the procedures and time 
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limits for appealing
assessments and that assessments of 
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property, other than farm land and coal,
are required by law to 
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be 33 1/3% of value.  Where practicable, the notice
shall 
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include the reason for any increase in the property's 
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valuation.  The
notice must also state the name and price per 
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copy by mail of the newspaper in
which the list of assessments 
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will be published. The form and manner of
providing the 
 


 






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information and explanations required to be in the notice shall

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be prescribed by the Department.

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(Source: P.A. 87-1189; 88-455; incorporates 88-321; 88-670, 
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eff. 12-2-94.)


 

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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 
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1, 2010.