Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
The provisions of this Section are promulgated pursuant to Section 16-180 of
the Code and shall apply to all appeals before the Property Tax Appeal Board.
Nothing contained in this Section shall in any way negate, limit, modify or
otherwise affect any of the powers, duties or authority of the Board under the
Code.
b) Appeals filed with the
Property Tax Appeal Board shall be set for hearing pursuant to Section
1910.67.
All hearings once commenced shall continue on successive work days until
completed unless any Member or designated Hearing Officer orders a continuance
of the hearing pursuant to subsection (d). Hearings shall be open to the public
in accordance with Section
1910.67(f).
c) The sequence to be followed for all
hearings before the Property Tax Appeal Board shall be as follows:
1) Preliminary matters - motions or
objections, or attempts to narrow issues or limit evidence shall be heard
first;
2) Opening statements - the
contesting party shall proceed first, followed by the board of review and
intervenors, if any; opening statements may be waived or may be reserved and
presented prior to the commencement of a party's case in chief;
3) Case in chief - the evidence and witnesses
presented to prove the position of the contesting party shall be heard first,
followed by those of the board of review and intervenors, if any; as witnesses
complete their testimony, they are subject to cross-examination by the Hearing
Officer and the other parties to the appeal; witnesses may be questioned under
redirect examination where necessary;
4) Rebuttal - the evidence and witnesses
presented to rebut the evidence offered in opposition to the contesting party's
position shall be heard after the completion of the cases in chief of all
parties, followed by the rebuttal evidence and witnesses of the board of review
and intervenors, if any;
5) Closing
statements - the closing argument of the contesting party shall be heard first,
followed by the closing arguments of the board of review and intervenors, if
any; the contesting party shall be permitted a brief rebuttal at the end of the
closing arguments of the other parties.
d) Continuances of appeals set for hearing
shall be granted pursuant to Section
1910.67(i);
a hearing that has commenced may be continued by order of the Hearing Officer
to permit further testimony or argument only if the time allotted for the
hearing has expired.
e) All
witnesses appearing before the Property Tax Appeal Board shall testify under
oath or affirmation.
f) Any party
may object to the admissibility of evidence or testimony, and those objections
must clearly state the specific ground or rule of law that is the basis for the
objection.
1) When an objection is made to
the admissibility of evidence prior to the hearing of the appeal, the objection
must be made in writing. A copy of the objection shall be transmitted to all
other parties to the appeal, and the Property Tax Appeal Board shall solicit
responses from all other parties. The Board shall issue its ruling on the
objection in writing prior to the hearing of the appeal.
2) When an objection is made to the
admissibility of evidence or testimony during the hearing, the Hearing Officer
may either sustain or overrule the objection if it is based on the provisions
of this Part, or may reserve the ruling and permit the testimony and/or
evidence into the record subject to the ruling of the Property Tax Appeal Board
on the objection in its decision for the appeal.
3) Any party offering evidence that is ruled
inadmissible shall be permitted to make an offer of proof upon motion made at
the hearing.
g) The
Property Tax Appeal Board or its designated Hearing Officer may exclude
inadmissible evidence upon its own motion.
h) Writings, documents and all copies of
writings and documents submitted to the Property Tax Appeal Board shall be
legible, and exhibits shall be plainly marked and identified. All exhibits and
documentation discussed during the hearing shall be marked for identification
by the Hearing Officer.
i) The
Property Tax Appeal Board may take official notice of decisions it has
rendered, matters within its specialized knowledge and expertise, and all
matters of which the Circuit Courts of this State may take judicial
notice.
j) Any party or his or her
witness may be called by any other party as an adverse witness and examined as
if under cross-examination in the same manner and under the same circumstances
as provided in Section 2-1102 of the Code of Civil Procedure [
735 ILCS
5/2-1102] . Upon a showing that a witness was called
in good faith and that the party calling the witness is surprised by the
witness' testimony, examination of the witness may proceed as if under
cross-examination, and the testimony of the witness may be impeached by prior
statements or otherwise.
k) The
Hearing Officer presiding over or scheduled to preside over a Property Tax
Appeal Board hearing may be disqualified from the hearing as follows:
1) Any interested party may move for the
disqualification of a Hearing Officer based on bias or a conflict of interest.
The motion must be in writing and must state specific facts establishing that
bias or a conflict of interest exists. Adverse rulings in pending or prior
appeals shall not be sufficient to establish bias or a conflict of
interest.
2) A motion for
disqualification shall be made promptly after the moving party learns the
identity of the Hearing Officer or after learning facts that establish grounds
for disqualification. The motion shall be presented to the Chairman of the
Board or the Executive Director. If bias or a conflict of interest is found to
exist, another Hearing Officer shall be appointed as soon as
possible.
3) The Hearing Officer
may at any time voluntarily disqualify himself or herself.
l) Decisions of the Property Tax Appeal Board
shall dispose of contested matters upon the merits and shall set forth the
Board's findings of fact and conclusions of law.
1) Decisions shall be served by the Clerk of
the Property Tax Appeal Board by United States mail or by electronic means on
the appellant, board of review and intervenor, if any.
2) The final administrative decision of the
Property Tax Appeal Board shall be deemed served on a party when a copy of the
decision is either:
A) deposited in the
United States Mail, in a sealed package, with postage prepaid, addressed to
that party at the address listed for that party in the pleadings, except that,
if the party is represented by an attorney, the notice shall go to the attorney
at the address listed in the pleadings; or
B) sent electronically to the party at the
e-mail addresses provided for that party in the pleadings.
3) Decisions may also be delivered or made
available to the proper authorities affected by the decision, including the
State's Attorney, Chief County Assessment Officer, County Clerk and County
Collector by United States mail or electronic means, if available, as provided
in Section 16-185 of the Code.
4)
Decisions of the Board shall be based on the evidence contained in the
administrative record.
m) The Property Tax Appeal Board shall allow
each party to designate one or more individuals to receive electronic
correspondence on behalf of that party and shall allow each party to change,
add or remove designees selected by that party during the course of the
proceedings. Decisions and all electronic correspondence shall be directed to
each individual so designated.
