Legislation passed earlier this month requires some school boards in Cook County to act swiftly in a changing landscape related to school treasurers. At issue are “township trustees of schools” offices and their treasurers –...more
Recent changes to Illinois law will impact the way school districts administer their summer construction projects. The Public Construction Bond Act has been amended effective January 1, 2024, to increase the threshold at...more
Last month, in the case Carle Foundation v. Dept. of Revenue, the Fourth District Court of Appeals issued its latest decision regarding hospital property tax exemptions. The Court upheld a trial court judgment awarding the...more
Governor Pritzker recently signed P.A. 103-0491 (previously SB 1570) into law, which will allow school districts to enter into design-build contracts—as opposed to the currently available design-bid-build delivery...more
8/22/2023
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Project ,
Design-Bid-Build ,
Design-Build ,
Illinois ,
New Legislation ,
Project Delivery Methods ,
Public Acts ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Request for Proposals ,
School Districts
On Monday Governor Pritzker signed into law Public Act 102-0895 (Senate Bill 1975) creating Section 18-190.7 of the Property Tax Code, which modifies how certain school districts and other units of local government can...more
On Friday Governor Pritzker signed into law Public Act 102-0519 (Senate Bill 508) creating Section 18-233 of the Property Tax Code, which implements an automatic levy increase to be applied by county tax extension officials...more
In the next few weeks, Cook County school districts and other taxing agencies will be receiving notices from the State’s Attorney’s Office that the tax rate objection complaints for the 2011 to 2014 tax years are being...more
After a very difficult 2020, Illinois school districts received a well-deserved present on December 24 when the First District Illinois Appellate Court issued a decision rejecting a tax rate objection and upholding the...more
As reported in Education Week, the U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition to hear an appeal brought by Cook County Treasurer’s office, the Assessor’s office and others challenging a 7th Circuit decision allowing Illinois...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued two decisions involving property tax assessments, each being noteworthy for a different reason. One is noteworthy because it focuses on the longstanding legal principle that a...more
In yet another change brought about by COVID-19, the Cook County Board of Review is now providing notice of new Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) appeals by electronic mail. ...more
On Friday, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-15 allowing school districts to communicate, respond to, and open bids electronically for school construction projects. Section 10-20.21 of the Illinois School Code...more
Last week, nine Cook County school districts and Calumet City filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in support of rehearing in the case A.F. Moore & Associates Inc. v....more
2/26/2020
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
County Assessors ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Municipalities ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Property Tax ,
Property Valuation ,
School Districts ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Assessment ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Refunds ,
Tax Revenues
A recent Illinois Appellate Court decision highlights the importance of keeping a complete record of board proceedings that are subject to judicial review. In Board of Education of Kewanee School District 229 v. The Regional...more
Franczek P.C. is pleased to announce the publication of its annual Legislative Update for schools. With the flood of legislative changes in Illinois this year, it is more imperative than ever for education stakeholders to...more
Franczek P.C. is pleased to announce the publication of its annual Legislative Update for schools. With the flood of legislative changes in Illinois this year, it is more imperative than ever for education stakeholders to...more
10/2/2019
/ Cannabis Products ,
Charter Schools ,
Educational Institutions ,
FOIA ,
Human Rights ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Marijuana ,
Mental Health ,
Military Service Members ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Public Accommodation ,
Public Acts ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safety Precautions ,
Salary/Wage History ,
School Boards ,
School Districts ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Offenders ,
Special Education ,
State Budgets ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Threat Management ,
Wage and Hour
Governor Pritzker recently signed into law Public Act 101-0455 amending the School Safety Drill Act (105 ILCS 128/1) to require threat assessment procedures and the creation of threat assessment teams in school districts...more
9/18/2019
/ Adverse Events ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
FERPA ,
FOIA ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Information Sharing ,
New Legislation ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Acts ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
School Districts ,
State and Local Government ,
Threat Management ,
Vulnerability Assessments
Last week the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the Truth in Taxation Law does not require a taxing district to document its estimated property tax levy and that a public hearing is not required if a proposed levy is less...more
The evolution and expansion of the health care industry continues to test the limits of Illinois’ charitable real estate tax exemption laws, with significant implications for school district revenues. In addition to...more
Yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a decision in Oswald v. Hamer marking the latest chapter in a controversy dating to 2003. The decision finds that Section 15-86 of the Illinois Property Tax Code, which provides a...more
9/21/2018
/ Charitable Organizations ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
IL Supreme Court ,
Non-Profit Hospitals ,
Property Tax ,
School Districts ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Revenues ,
Taxation
Tucked inside the 763-page budget implementation bill adopted by the Illinois House is a provision that imposes penalties on school districts entering into contracts and collective bargaining agreements that provide TRS...more
Illinois Courts are currently examining several different aspects of property tax exemptions, all of which impact the revenues of school districts and other units of local government. Most notably, the Illinois Supreme Court...more
10/26/2017
/ Appeals ,
Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Homestead Exemption ,
Hospitals ,
Local Revenues ,
Property Tax ,
Real Estate Market ,
School Districts ,
Tax Assessment ,
Tax Exemptions
A recent article in Education Week has caught the attention of many local educators. The article, available here, discusses a national trend in property tax assessment appeals that can have devastating effects on school...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently upheld a trial court’s ruling that property tax refunds from a dissolved TIF District must be paid by the municipality, not by the other affected taxing agencies. The case, Village of...more
Last Thursday the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a special property tax exemption for a single aeronautical services company operating out of the Quad City International Airport. As noted in the July 2015 FR Alert...more