• All fees are subject to change without notice
• Credit cards not accepted
• We only accept cash or check, make checks payable to Downers Grove Township Assessor’s Office
• Returned check fee $25.00
• There is no cost for the first 50 pages, thereafter each page is $0.15
• Plat Pages – $2.00 per page
• Mailing Fee – $3.00

The assessed value determines your portion of the overall tax burden. The tax burden is the individual taxing bodies request for money, there is a list on your tax bill of all the taxing bodies that provide services to your particular area. When these taxing districts levy for more than the prior year the overall increase is reflected in your tax bill.

Your tax bill will stay flat or decrease when the taxing bodies request the same amount or less than they did in the prior years.

Due to legislative action, in 1991 the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) became law. The Tax Cap, as it is known, states property tax extensions (levies) are limited to a 5% increase or the increase in the national Consumer Price Index (CPI) which ever is the least amount. The limitation can be increased for a taxing body but only with voter approval.

The Illinois Department of Revenue and State Statute sets forth laws and guidelines that an Assessor must follow to assess property. Most important is to assess at a third of market value. However, 33 1/3% of market value is based on the prior three years of sales and assessment data.

Other Statutes in the Illinois Property Tax Code

(35 ILCS 200/1 50)
Sec. 1 50. Fair cash value. The amount for which a property can be sold, in the due course of business and trade, not under duress, between a willing buyer and a willing seller.

(35 ILCS 200/1 23)
Sec. 1 23. Compulsory sale. “Compulsory sale” means (i) the sale of real estate for less than the amount owed to the mortgage lender or mortgagor, if the lender or mortgagor has agreed to the sale, commonly referred to as a “short sale” and (ii) the first sale of real estate owned by a financial institution as a result of a judgment of foreclosure, transfer pursuant to a deed in lieu of foreclosure, or consent judgment, occurring after the foreclosure proceeding is complete.

(35 ILCS 200/9 180)
Sec. 9 180. Pro rata valuations; improvements or removal of improvements. The owner of property on January 1 also shall be liable, on a proportionate basis, for the increased taxes occasioned by the construction of new or added buildings, structures or other improvements on the property from the date when the occupancy permit was issued or from the date the new or added improvement was inhabitable and fit for occupancy or for intended customary use to December 31 of that year…
When, during the previous calendar year, any buildings, structures or other improvements on the property were destroyed and rendered uninhabitable or otherwise unfit for occupancy or for customary use by accidental means (excluding destruction resulting from the willful misconduct of the owner of such property), the owner of the property on January 1 shall be entitled, on a proportionate basis, to a diminution of assessed valuation for such period during which the improvements were uninhabitable or unfit for occupancy or for customary use….

(35 ILCS 200/9 205)
Sec. 9 205. Equalization. When deemed necessary to equalize assessments between or within townships or between classes of property, or when deemed necessary to raise or lower assessments within a county or any part thereof to the level prescribed by law, changes in individual assessments may be made by a township assessor or chief county assessment officer, by application of a percentage increase or decrease to each assessment.

(35 ILCS 200/9 210)
Sec. 9 210. Equalization by chief county assessment officer; counties of less than 3,000,000. The chief county assessment officer in a county with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall act as an equalizing authority for each county in which he or she serves. The officer shall examine the assessments in the county and shall equalize the assessments by increasing or reducing the entire assessment of property in the county or any area therein or of any class of property, so that the assessments will be at 33 1/3% of fair cash value. … For each township or assessment district in the county, the supervisor of assessments shall annually determine the percentage relationship between the estimated 33 1/3% of the fair cash value of the property and the assessed valuations at which the property is listed for each township, multi township or assessment district. …With the ratio determined for each township or assessment district, the supervisor of assessments shall then determine the percentage to be added to or deducted from the aggregate assessments in each township or assessment district, in order to produce a ratio of assessed value to fair cash value of 33 1/3%. That percentage shall be issued as an equalization factor for each township or assessment district within each county served by the chief county assessment officer. The assessment officer shall then change the assessment of each parcel of property by application of the equalization factor.

(35 ILCS 200/12 10)
Sec. 12 10. Publication of assessments; counties of less than 3,000,000. In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, as soon as the chief county assessment officer has completed the assessment in the county or in the assessment district, he or she shall, in each year of a general assessment, publish for the county or assessment district a complete list of the assessment, by townships if so organized. In years other than years of a general assessment, the chief county assessment officer shall publish a list of property for which assessments have been added or changed since the preceding assessment, together with the amounts of the assessments, except that publication of individual assessment changes shall not be required if the changes result from equalization by the supervisor of assessments under Section 9 210, or Section 10 200, in which case the list shall include a general statement indicating that assessments have been changed because of the application of an equalization factor and shall set forth the percentage of increase or decrease represented by the factor. The publication shall be made on or before December 31 of that year, and shall be printed in some public newspaper or newspapers published in the county. In every township or assessment district in which there is published one or more newspapers of general circulation, the list of that township shall be published in one of the newspapers.

Once every four years, by law, the Assessor must review and reassess all property in the jurisdiction. In the middle three years, normally a multiplier is applied to all parcels within a Township. It’s in the fourth year, the General Reassessment year, that adjustments are made to reflect the market activity in smaller specific areas and neighborhoods within a Township.

Also, in a General Reassessment year notices are mailed to each property owner and all assessments are published in local newspapers. The newspaper your parcel is listed in is printed on your assessment notice.

Portions of the entire publication are printed in The Doings, Clarendon Hills Doings & Weekly Doings, the Downers Grove Reporter and the Suburban Life Newspapers. All of these procedures are in accordance with Illinois State Statute.

This does NOT mean your taxes will increase by the same percentage. The amount of the overall tax collection is determined by the taxing bodies…schools, government, parks, fire districts, etc. Your portion of that tax collection is dictated by the assessed value of your property.

Unfortunately, we cannot tell you what your tax bill amount will be at this time because the taxing body’s request for money must be sent to the County Clerk and the processing of that information does not take place until the following spring.

The Assessor’s Office is sent copies of building permits from DuPage County and the villages within the Township boundaries. Once the permit is received a Deputy Assessor Field Person inspects each site, measures the structure, and lists its amenities for assessment purposes.

Home Improvement Exemption is an exemption which is automatically granted when you have made an improvement to your property, such as, a room addition, new garage or fireplace, finishing a basement, or have built a new deck or porch. The assessment increase attributable only to the new improvement is exempt for four years, with a maximum of 25,000 in assessed value. If the assessment increase exceeds 25,000 the balance of the assessment is subject to taxation.

For example, if you have built a deck and it is assessed for 4,500, for the next four years the property assessed value will be reduced by 4,500. However, if you have built a room addition and it’s assessment is 37,000, for the next four years the property assessment will be reduced by only 25,000, the maximum exemption.

Once the new construction is complete a notice of assessment change will be sent. It will reflect the total assessment, including the full assessed value of the new improvement. Prior to calculating the tax bill, however, the exemption amount is applied, along with any other exemptions that apply.

New siding, windows, roofing, replacement of a furnace or plumbing fixtures, and landscaping, for example, are considered normal maintenance and do not change the overall assessment. These types of repairs or replacements are not eligible for the Home Improvement Exemption since they do not increase the assessment.

Please check the Township boundaries on the map. Properties west of Woodward Avenue are assessed by Lisle Township, (630) 968-1183. Properties north of 39th Street are assessed by York Township, (630) 627-3354.

Tax bill payment questions should be directed to the DuPage County Treasurer’s office at (630) 407-5900. The Assessors Office cannot accept tax bill payment. They can be paid at the DuPage County Treasurers office at 421 North County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187. Also, there are several local banks that accept payment. Call the County Treasurer for more information.

You may call the DuPage County Clerk’s office at (630) 407-5500. Depending on your questions they may suggest you contact the taxing body directly.

Special service areas, to pay for sewers, water, etc. in a specific area, are handled by the DuPage County Clerk at (630) 407-5500.

Even though properties may be assessed the same, exemptions specific to that property can cause a difference in the tax bill amount. Prior to the tax bill calculation the assessment is reduced by the amount of exemptions the person and/or property qualifies for that year. The exemptions are as follows:

The residential homestead exemption of up to 6,000, the senior exemption of 5,000; the home improvement exemption which reduces the assessed value up to 25,000, based on assessment attributable to the new improvement; and the senior freeze, which freezes the assessment at the prior year’s value.

Tax bills also vary due to differing tax rates. There are over 200 different tax rates in Downers Grove Township alone, due to the number of taxing districts serving the citizens in a given area.

Tax bill calculation: Equalized Assessed Value – Exemptions x Tax Rate = Tax Bill