Illinois Supreme Court will not hear Carle property-tax case

Jana Wiersema, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·2 min read

Mar. 28—URBANA — A long-running legal dispute between Carle Health and local and state officials may finally be coming to an end.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it is denying Champaign County and the Illinois Department of Revenue's appeal of an appellate court decision regarding property tax exemptions for Carle Health.

"We are pleased that after more than 16 years of litigation, the case will finally come to a conclusion," said Steven Pfaum, one of Carle's Chicago lawyers.

IDOR spokesperson Maura Kownacki said the department is "currently in the process of reviewing the decision."

The Fourth District Appellate Court previously issued a decision in August 2023 to uphold seven years' worth of charitable tax exemptions for Carle and also ruled that Carle was entitled to an exemption for an eighth year.

Prior to that, Champaign County Judge Randy Rosenbaum ruled in 2020 that Carle was entitled to partial exemptions on its four Urbana properties for 2005-11.

Rosenbaum said there was insufficient evidence to determine the amount of the hospital's charitable activities for 2004. The appellate court later reversed his decision for that year while upholding his determination for the others.

The county and IDOR appealed the case to the Illinois Supreme Court in December 2023.

Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin said that the city, which has been involved in the long-running litigation, would have participated in the case if it was accepted by the Supreme Court.

She added that while the city has repaid some of the disputed taxes, they still have to pay the remainder from 2004, which will be calculated by the court. The city has set aside funds to cover this expense, she said.

"The Carle case is over," Marlin said.

Rosenbaum similarly said that the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case means the appellate court's decision is "the final ruling in the case," and Pfaum said he thinks it's unlikely that the county or IDOR would try to appeal the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, as there are no "federal issues" at stake.

"As a practical matter, this is the end of the road," Pfaum said.

However, Illinois Supreme Court Public Information Officer James Brunner said that there is some recourse when the court denies an appeal.

According to an infographic from the Supreme Court, in the event of a denial, the party or parties who submitted the appeal can ask the court to reconsider its decision by filing a Motion for Leave to file a Motion for Reconsideration as well as the Motion for Reconsideration.