Tax tribunal to remain funded

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

T(The Center Square) – An independent tribunal created to resolve taxpayer disputes with the Illinois Department of Revenue is expected to keep operating, even though Gov. J.B. Pritzker left the agency out of his budget proposal.

The General Assembly established the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal in 2013.

After the governor sought to transfer the tribunal’s responsibilities back to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the tribunal’s chief administrative judge, James Conway, turned to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“I just ask for your continued support and somehow get us funded so we can keep going with the operation that we do, that you wanted us to do 12 years ago,” Conway said during a hearing on April 29.

The tribunal had a budget appropriation of $711,000 in fiscal year 2026, with an estimated expenditure of $702,000.

Pritzker’s spending plan for fiscal year 2027 eliminated funding for the tribunal, but lawmakers included appropriations for the agency in the $55.9 billion budget they passed on June 1st.

State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, said the tribunal is designed to be independent.

“We funded that in the budget, and it’s going to remain separate,” Hoffman told The Center Square.

Hoffman said he understood the idea of folding the tribunal into the Illinois Department of Revenue.

“This is not a criticism of the governor’s proposal, but I want to make sure that if we ever do that, it’s still an independent entity, because what it does is it looks at disputes between the individual taxpayers and the Department of Revenue. So if it is under the thumb of the Department of Revenue, that would create a problem in my mind,” Hoffman said.

The Center Square contacted the tribunal after the budget passed.

“We have no comment,” said the reply.

The tribunal’s jurisdiction is limited to certain Illinois statutes and it generally hears cases involving more than $15,000 of interest and penalties.

The budget document contained in House Bill 111 was sent to the governor Wednesday.