Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The Property Tax
Appeal Board may render a decision based upon the evidence, exhibits and briefs
submitted to it by all interested parties without holding a hearing.
b) The Property Tax Appeal Board shall review
all appeals filed in compliance with this Part to determine whether a hearing
shall be held on any factual or legal issue. Whenever the Board determines that
a hearing is not required, the appeal shall be decided based upon the evidence
in the record. The Board shall hold a hearing at the request of any party in
writing. In the event a hearing is deemed necessary, the Board shall give
notice to all parties to the appeal of the time, date, and place of the hearing
at least 20 days prior to the hearing, unless the 20 day period is specifically
waived by all the parties to the appeal. Upon service of notice of the
scheduled hearing by the Board upon all parties to the appeal, communications
concerning that appeal and the scheduled hearing shall be directed to the
Members of the Board or the Hearing Officer that has been assigned to hold the
hearing in accordance with subsection (e).
c) A party may request a decision of the
Property Tax Appeal Board based upon the evidence in the record by filing a
written request with the Board. Any such request shall not be binding on the
Board.
d) Notice of a hearing to
all interested taxing bodies by the Property Tax Appeal Board shall be deemed
to have been given when served upon the State's Attorney of the county from
which the appeal has been taken, unless such interested taxing bodies have
specifically been made parties to the appeal proceeding.
e) Hearings may be held before less than a
majority of the Members of the Board, and the Chairman may assign Members or
Hearing Officers to hold hearings. Any hearing may be conducted by the Property
Tax Appeal Board at its offices in Springfield or Des Plaines, at any other
location in Illinois selected by the Board, or by video conference. The Board
may cause its Hearing Officer to conduct such hearing and report his findings
for affirmation or rejection by the Board. Hearings conducted by video
conference shall be conducted, to the extent practicable, in the same form and
manner as in-person hearings with the additional provisions as set forth in
this subsection. If a hearing is being conducted by video conference, and the
additional provisions regarding video conference hearings found in this
subsection conflict with any provisions regarding in-person hearings, then the
rules of this subsection shall apply.
1) The
Board and all parties must agree to have the hearing conducted by video
conference. Any party that objects to participating in a hearing by video
conference shall inform the assigned Hearing Officer and all other parties in
writing not less than 10 days prior to the scheduled hearing date and provide
with specificity good cause as to why the party opposes the video conference
hearing. Failure to object within 10 days of the video conference hearing will
constitute a waiver of the objection.
2) The hearing notice required by subsection
(b) of this Section shall include all the information necessary for all parties
to gain access to the video conference, such as the software program to be
used, meeting number, meeting password, and the date and time the video
conference hearing will begin. Parties are solely responsible for providing
this information to their own witnesses and court reporters. This information
will also be posted on the Board's website so that members of the general
public can view the hearing in accordance with subsection (f) of this Section,
subject to the limitations provided in that subsection. All times listed in the
hearing notice and on the Board's website are in the Central Time
zone.
3) All parties and witnesses
participating in the video conference hearing shall have their own audio and
video equipment, such as a computer, microphone, video camera, and internet
connection. All parties, witnesses, audio equipment, and video equipment shall
remain stationary for the duration of the video conference hearing. Preferably,
participants shall avoid sharing audio and video equipment during the video
conference hearing to ensure the ability to hear, observe, and meaningfully
conduct direct and cross examinations. When the sharing of audio and video
equipment is unavoidable the camera view shall be adjustable to provide a
close-up view of each individual, and a panoramic view of the room. All parties
and witnesses shall be visible throughout the duration of the video conference
hearing, except such witnesses excluded by the Hearing Officer pursuant to a
motion to exclude witnesses, or individuals excluded pursuant to Section
1910.69(c).
4) Prior to the start of the video conference
hearing, all attorneys, witnesses, and court reporters shall provide the
Hearing Officer with a phone number at which they can be reached should there
be interruptions in the audio and/or video transmission during the video
conference hearing.
5) All
witnesses shall testify under oath and affirmation. Witnesses shall avoid
testifying while in the same room as another individual, whether or not the
other individual is involved in the video conference hearing. If the witness
cannot avoid this situation, the witness shall identify any other individuals
in the room to the Hearing Officer. Witnesses shall be precluded from accessing
any electronic devices during the video conference hearing without leave of the
Hearing Officer, except for the electronic device being used to access the
hearing.
6) All rebuttal or
impeachment evidence not previously filed with the Board may only be proposed
for introduction during the video conference hearing if it is in a digital
format (preferably.pdf format) prior to the start of the video conference
hearing. The party introducing such evidence shall provide a digital copy to
the Hearing Officer and all other parties during the hearing via email, or such
other contemporaneous means as allowed by the Hearing Officer. This subsection
pertains to the sharing of documentary evidence and does not indicate a ruling
on admissibility or waiver of arguments; if such evidence is not available in a
digital format before the start of the video conference hearing, the Hearing
Officer may preclude its introduction.
7) The official record of any video
conference hearing shall be prepared in accordance with Section
1910.98.
If a court reporter is required, the court reporter shall view the hearing in
the same manner as any other party with their own audio and video
equipment.
8) The Board may, in its
discretion, order that all hearings for a specified time be conducted by video
conference. Such order shall be conspicuously posted on the Board's
website.
f) Each hearing
shall be open to public observation, except for a hearing or part of a hearing
that the Board or its designated Hearing Officer states to be closed for
purposes of insuring the protection of any confidential, proprietary or trade
secret nature of any data, information or studies that are discussed by a
witness.
g) Every Hearing Officer
presiding over a Property Tax Appeal Board hearing must meet the following
requirements:
1) possess a working knowledge
of the English language, including composition and grammar;
2) possess a working knowledge of standard
office practices and procedures;
3)
possess an ability to effectively communicate technical information both orally
and in writing;
4) possess an
ability to deal tactfully with the general public, attorneys, and service
providers;
5) possess an ability to
prepare concise and factual reports on hearing findings for presentation to the
Board;
6) possess an ability to
conduct hearings and obtain and analyze necessary information;
7) possess a valid Illinois driver's
license;
8) be of high integrity
and good personal repute;
9) be
familiar with this Part and the Property Tax Code;
10) be disinterested and impartial;
and
11) have no financial or
personal interest in the result of the hearing.
h) Authority of the Board and designated
Hearing Officers
1) In connection with any
proceeding, the Board, or any of its designated Hearing Officers, shall have
full authority over the conduct of a hearing and the responsibility for
submission of the matter to the Board for decision. The Board or its designated
Hearing Officer shall have those duties and powers necessary to these ends,
including:
A) To conduct hearings and
pre-hearing conferences;
B) To
admit or exclude testimony or other evidence into the record pursuant to this
Part;
C) To administer oaths and
affirmations and examine all persons appearing at the hearing to testify or to
offer evidence;
D) To require the
production of any book, record, paper or document at any stage of the appeal or
of the hearing which is the foundation for any evidence or testimony presented
in the appeal;
E) To require the
submission of briefs on issues of law raised during the hearing within 60 days
after the termination of the hearing;
F) To call upon any person at any stage of
the hearing to produce witnesses or information that is material and relevant
to any issue; and
G) To ensure that
the hearing is conducted in a full, fair and impartial manner, that order is
maintained, and that unnecessary delay is avoided in the disposition of the
hearing.
2) Any Hearing
Officer assigned to conduct a hearing on behalf of the Board shall be empowered
to exercise the full authority of the Board with respect to the conduct and
control of the proceeding.
i) Continuances shall be granted for good
cause shown in writing, and then only on an order of a Member of the Property
Tax Appeal Board, or a duly authorized Hearing Officer. Good cause shall be the
inability to attend the hearing at the date and time set by the Board for a
cause beyond the control of the party, such as the unavoidable absence of a
party, his attorney or material witness, or the serious illness or death of a
witness or party. The Board shall set the hearing of a continued case at the
time it sets other hearings of appeals from the county in which the subject of
the continued appeal lies, unless the parties request that the Board decide the
appeal based upon the evidence in the record without a formal
hearing.
j) At the hearing, the
contesting party shall first introduce his case into evidence, followed by the
evidence of other parties to the appeal, in the order directed by the Property
Tax Appeal Board or Hearing Officer. All parties are entitled to a rebuttal
after all evidence of all parties has been introduced. Evidence submitted to
the Board in documentary form may be made a part of the record without the
document being read into the record if the Board or Hearing Officer so
orders.
k) In no case shall any
written or documentary evidence be accepted into the appeal record at the
hearing unless:
1) Such evidence has been
submitted to the Property Tax Appeal Board prior to the hearing pursuant to
this Part;
2) The filing
requirement is specifically waived by the Board; or
3) The submission of the written or
documentary evidence is specifically ordered by the Board or by a Hearing
Officer.
l) Appraisal
testimony offered to prove the valuation asserted by any party shall not be
accepted at the hearing unless a documented appraisal has been timely submitted
by that party pursuant to this Part. Appraisal testimony offered to prove the
valuation asserted may only be given by a preparer of the documented appraisal
whose signature appears on the document.
m) All testimony taken at the hearing shall
be under oath or affirmation.
