The Illinois Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) recently found itself on the wrong side of a decision by the First District Appellate Court of Illinois in Cumberland Acquisition, LLC v. Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, 2025 IL App (1st) 241868.

Cumberland appealed the 2021 and 2022 assessments of an office park on North Cumberland Avenue to the Cook County Board of Review (BOR). The BOR assessed the property at $9.17 million for 2021 and $4.88 million for 2022. The method utilized by Cook County sets assessments at 25% of the property’s fair market value.

In support of its appeals, Cumberland submitted appraisal reports by Martin Siegel, who was described as an Illinois Certified Real Estate Appraiser. The BOR did not raise any issues with respect to the appraisal reports. However, in 2024, PTAB discovered that Seigel’s license expired on September 30, 2021, well before Cumberland submitted his appraisals in support of their appeals. Despite not having a valid license in the state of Illinois, Siegel submitted numerous appraisals after his license expired. Due to Siegel’s expired license, PTAB dismissed both of Cumberland’s property tax appeals as a sanction. PTAB reasoned that the appraisal was “fraudulently defective” and that without the appraisals, Cumberland failed to satisfy the administrative requirement to present “substantive, documentary evidence.”

Cumberland challenged PTAB’s decision in the Appellate Court. The Appellate Court reversed and remanded, holding that PTAB exceeded its statutory authority and that its actions were void as a matter of law. Specifically, Section 1910.69 of the Administrative Code does not give authority to PTAB to dismiss an appeal as a sanction based on an appraisal prepared by an appraiser with an expired license. Further, the Appellate Court relied on the legislature’s intention for PTAB to resolve appeals “based upon equity and the weight of the evidence.” In examining the actions taken by PTAB, the Appellate Court found that it acted beyond the powers bestowed upon it by Illinois law.

This case highlights the need for any taxing body to carefully conduct its own due diligence when selecting an appraiser for any property tax dispute to ensure that all licensing requirements are current. Further, a taxing body and its counsel must be familiar with the relevant provisions of the Administrative Code to ensure that an administrative body is acting within the bounds of its statutory authority.

About Megan M. Olson

Megan focuses her practice on serving cities, villages, townships, school districts, library districts, road districts, park districts, and other local government entities. In addition to providing general counsel, she provides guidance on establishing and drafting new ordinances and policies, contract negotiations, building and code enforcement, administrative proceedings, Freedom of Information Act compliance, and intergovernmental agreements. Megan also has experience in eminent domain, land use, development, and public water supply matters. Click here to read Megan’s full attorney bio.