Once again due to the failure of the Illinois Senate to pass House Bill 506, Illinois of homeowners will continue to pay $60-$75 more on their second installment of property tax bill in 2013. The House bill has been voted down twice by the Senate, with the most recent vote taking place on December 4, 2012. The bill would've allowed assessors to go after people who claim fraudulent property exemptions by claiming homestead exemptions on multi-homes or applying for other exemptions they have no right to claim.
By failing to vote or casting a no vote the Senate has shown a complete disregard for their constituents and show they support tax cheats. So once again, honest homeowners must pick up the tab, even though it is estimated that recovered money would bring and $65 million to Cook County and $119 million statewide.
In this State of Illinois, the honest homeowner must apply to be granted a property tax exemption which is analyzed by the Cook County Board of Review, who in turn recommends to the Illinois Department of Revenue to allow or deny the exemption. During one of the four filing periods each year, the Cook County Board of Review is to process your application by:
- Making a unannounced inspection of your property.
- Analyzing your application and document
- Possibly having a hearing for you to testify, and/or obtain more information.
- Recommendation on whether to grant or deny the exemption.
Once your application is in the hands of the Illinois Department of Revenue, this process begins again. If you are denied you have the right to appeal the decisions to a department administrative law judge and to Illinois courts. The complete process of applying for a property tax exemption can take as long as a year.
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