Board of Review

Please Note: The Board of Review will mail the Decision Notices disclosing the results of all the 2022 pay 2023 assessed value petitions on March 15, 2023. All 2022 tax year Board of Review decisions are appealable to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) within 30 days of the decision notice. The required appeal forms are available for download on the PTAB website.

Board of Review Department Overview

The Board of Review (BOR) is a quasi-judicial agency established by State Statute with the intent of providing property owners with an informal venue to resolve assessed value disputes. The Board of Review does not have the authority to directly change actual property tax bills. The Board of Review consists of three members who are required by law to have prior real estate experience and pass a State administered exam demonstrating real estate appraisal proficiency and an understanding of the Illinois Property Tax Code. In addition to the three regular board members, the Board of Review utilizes expanded members who are required to have the same minimum qualifications as the regular Board of Review members.

From Section 16-55 of the Property Tax Code: "On written complaint that any property is over assessed or under assessed, the board shall review the assessment, and correct it, as appears to be just, but in no case shall the property be assessed at a higher percentage of fair cash value than other property in the assessment district prior to equalization by the board or the department."

Duties, Responsibilities, and Procedures for Boards of Review

The Board of Review is the final local authority with the power to ensure a uniform and equitable local property assessment. Once an assessment is completed, the township assessor no longer has jurisdiction over the assessment for that particular year. The Township Assessor returns the assessment books to the Supervisor of Assessments, who is empowered to make necessary revisions before the assessment changes are published. Once the assessments are published, the books are certified to the Board of Review. If the Township Assessor identifies the need for an assessment correction after the assessment books are certified to the Board of Review, the assessor may recommend an assessment revision by submitting a timely petition to the Board of Review.

The primary duty of the Board of Review is to examine and review the assessment roll to determine that the assessment work was accurately completed. In addition, it is the board's responsibility to review the degree of uniformity between individual assessments, assessment jurisdictions, and classes of property, and make the necessary corrections to ensure uniform results. This, in turn, ensures that the tax burden is equitably and uniformly distributed among all taxpayers within a particular taxing district.

The Board of Review must address four questions:

Is all of the taxable property listed on the assessment roll?
Is comparable property valued similarly?
Is the median level of assessment uniform between all classes of property in all assessment districts?
What property should be exempt from property taxes because of its use or ownership?

Other Duties of the Board of Review

The duties of the Board of Review include the following:

Raise individual assessments when it is determined the assessments are too low. (After notice to the taxpayer and an opportunity for a hearing.)
Lower individual assessments when it is determined the assessments are too high. (After notice to the taxpayer and Supervisor of Assessments in accordance with Section 16-55 of the Property Tax Code.)
Add taxable property to the roll. (After notice to the taxpayer and an opportunity for hearing, when real property has been omitted for the current or prior years.)
Determine the exemption of homestead property.
Assess property no longer exempt from taxation.
Equalize assessments between townships, areas, and classes of property.
Note: In all six of the above duties, the Board of Review may act either on its own motion or on the complaint of a property owner or a taxing body.
Review non-homestead exemption applications and make recommendation to the department for final determination.

Material from the IL-DOR publication PTAX-1-BR was incorporated into the above information

Board of Review Examination

Applicants wishing to serve on the DuPage Board of Review or DuPage Expanded Board of Review must first take an Illinois Department of Revenue proctored examination and receive a numerical score of 70% or higher in order to be considered for the appointment. The examination will test knowledge relating to residential and commercial assessments as well as the Illinois Property Tax Code. The intent is to measure the applicant’s ability to apply basic appraisal methodology and to comply with State laws governing the Property Tax Code. Information about the Illinois Department of Revenue Property Tax Education Program. Additionally, links to relevant portions of the Illinois Property Tax Code can be found below.