foreign corporations is not subject to assessment in Illinois because of a decision in a court case (Hart v. Thoman, 373 Ill. 462).

When the assessments of capital stock made by the DLGA are finished, the department is required to publish them in the state's official newspaper. Any corporation dissatisfied with its assessment may, within 10 days of the date of the DLGA publication, apply to the department for review and correction of the assessment (ch. 120, sec. 618).

Railroad property is assessed by the Department of Local Government Affairs except for non-carrier real estate which is assessed by the local assessment officers. When the assessments of railroad property are finally determined by the department, the assessments are distributed among the several taxing districts in the state in proportion to the length of the track owned or used in each taxing district compared to the whole length of all track owned or used in the state. It is interesting to note that that they were assessed at higher levels by the DLGA than would have been made by local assessors, even after equalization. Many of these cases went to the Illinois Supreme Court, and in. some 12 instances the railroads were able to prove their case.

Property assessed annually
In each year other than the year of the quadrennial assessment, the assessor has the duty of listing and assessing all real estate which becomes taxable for the first time and adding on all new or added buildings and structures not assessed before. In addition, if there has been a destruction or depletion of property, he has the duty of taking this off the assessment rolls. The assessment officers have the power, in years other than the year of the quadrennial, to reassess real property whenever acreage property has been subdivided into lots and the subdivision has been recorded in the office of recorder of deeds in any county.

In addition, personal property that is still subject to assessment is assessed every year, and so this assessment is really a continuing duty of the assessor.

Publication of assessments
Upon the completion of local assessments in all counties (except Cook) in the year of the quadrennial assessment of real property, a full and complete list of the assessments of real and personal property must be published (by townships if the county is so organized). In years other than the quadrennial assessment, a list must be published of real estate for which assessments have been added or changed since the last assessment and a separate list of personal property assessments. The Revenue Act has a similar provision in respect to the publication of the assessments in Cook County.

What happens if there is a failure to publish the assessments as required by the statute? Such failure does not render the assessment void, because notice to the property owner is not a condition for the validity of the original assessment (Grant Land Association v. People, 213 III. 256). The purpose of the publication of assessments is to provide the taxpayer with a notice of his current assessment, and the opportunity to compare his assessment with those of his neighbors, providing however, that the assessments are of comparable property. If the taxpayer, after such examination, is of the opinion that his assessment is too high or out of line with that of his neighbor, the statute provides for him a method of protesting his assessment; see "How to file an appeal if assessed unfairly" in the next column. ¯

By MAURICE W. SCOTT
How to file an appeal if assessed unfairly

WHEN AN assessor values taxpayer A's home at 50 per cent of its value but values taxpayer B's comparable home at 20 per cent of its value, naturally taxpayer A is up in arms and wants to know where he must go to complain. He must go to his county board of review in downstate counties and to the County Board of Appeals in Cook County.

The board of review consists of three members. It meets on or before the third Monday of June in each year for the purpose of revising the assessments returned to it by the county assessor, supervisor of assessments, or board of assessors, as the case may be. At this meeting the board, upon the application of any taxpayer, or upon its own motion, may change or review the assessments of any taxpayer, but in no case may the assessment of any person be increased unless that person has had notification.

It should be remembered that if taxpayer A above is interested in filing his complaint before the board of review, such complaint to affect the assessment lor the current year must be filed on or before August I in counties with less than 150,000 inhabitants, and on or before September I in counties with 150,000 or more but less than 1,000,000 inhabitants. (A different process—not described here—applies in Cook County.) Such complaints must be in writing and filed in duplicate. The duplicate then goes to the local assessing officer. Taxpayer A should ask for a hearing so that he can present evidence when his complaint is heard. The best evidence in seeking relief is that his assessment is out of line with assessments of comparable property in the same neighborhood (Illinois Revised Statutes chapter 120, section 589).

Taxpayer A should proceed first before his county's board of review, because the courts are reluctant to give any relief unless the taxpayer has first exhausted his administrative remedy before the board of review (People ex ret Nordlund v. Lans, 31 III. 2d 477).

In Cook County the reviewing body is called the Board of Appeals. It is not authorized to make changes in the assessment books, but it may order the assessor to do so. This board can only act upon complaints filed with it by taxpayers.

When the review of assessments is completed by the board of review or by the Board of Appeals, the assessments are then certified to the county clerk.¯

178/Illmois Issues/June 1975