A. PTAB/Cook County Board of Review - Steinfink (Chair)

Jay Steinfink reported that his subcommittee will be meeting to discuss: 1) the Supreme Court's denial of the Petition for Leave to Appeal the Bosch decision; 2) proposed legislation; and 3) PTAB rule changes regarding notification and discovery.

B. Case Law - White (Chair)

Judge White briefly described three recent appellate court decisions:

Judge White also described issues presented in an "amusement tax" case he recently heard and has "taken under advisement."

C. Membership - Amari (Chair)

Katherine Amari reported that she recently attended John Marshall Law School Day, where she was able to recruit three student members. She reported that another law student day has been scheduled in January. Ms. Amari will have a table set up with membership materials at the upcoming seminar.

A. Chicago License Hold Ordinance - Kaminski (Exhibit A)

Stan Kaminski gave a status report on SALT's recommended change to Chicago's license hold provision in the Municipal Code, which was previously sent to President Lavin for consideration at the September ISBA Board Meeting. The ISBA Board did not approve the proposal because it considered to be a "local issue" and therefore, not something the ISBA should be involved with. In a letter to Chairman Norris dated September 24^th, the Board offered to have the matter considered further at its January 23^rd meeting, at which time SALT could send a representative to address the concerns raised by the Board. Mr. Kaminski agreed to attend the January Board Meeting on behalf of SALT.

VI. D. Unauthorized Practice of Law - Elliott (Chair)

Joanne Elliott reported that a Newsletter Article would be appearing soon on ULP. In addition, she and Tom McNulty were about to decide what evidence will be given to the UPL Task Force with respect to real estate tax assessment matters. Ms. Elliott will have more detailed information to report at the next SALT Meeting.

Tom Jaconetty reported that the Board of Review has developed new forms which addresses UPL concerns. The forms are intended to required complainants to more clearly state the relationship between the property owner and the representative before the Board. A representative will have to affirm the existence of an attorney client relationship. The Board's intent is to make the practice of law "better." Mr. Jaconetty suggested that the new forms are still a "work in progress."

Judge White added some comments on pro hac vice petitions required of lawyers who are not licensed to practice in Illinois, in order to appear in Illinois Courts and in Illinois Administrative Proceedings.

E. Exemption Streamlining - Davis (Chair)

No report.

F. Treasurer's Issues - Seitz (Chair)

Bill Seitz reported that a subcommittee meeting has been scheduled for October 24^th. There will be something to report at the next SALT meeting.

Martha Mills reported that the 2003 Scavenger Sale list has been published and is available. The sale is scheduled to begin on November 17^th. If anyone is aware of errors on the publication list, please bring these errors to the attention of the Treasurer's Office so that the list can be corrected.

G. Strategic Planning - Locallo (Chair)

John Locallo reported that he has been speaking at local law schools to promote the Young Lawyers Division of ISBA.

H. Website Development - Connelly (Chair)

Mary Anne Connelly advised that there was nothing new to report. She requested that anyone with suggestions for materials to be put on the Website should let her know.

I. IICLE Cumulative Update - Jaconetty (Chair)

Tom Jaconetty reported that IICLE has decided that a brand new edition of the State and Local Taxation handbook will be published, and not a supplement. Of the 23 authors who contributed to the last edition, six will not be returning authors. In each case, they have agreed to assign their copyright rights. New authors have been recruited and thus, there is now a full compliment of authors who have committed to the project. Everyone has submitted a signed commitment letter. Tom Jaconetty has agreed to serve as the General Editor. Two new chapter will be written, one on Unclaimed Property and Escheat, and the other on Miscellaneous Issues. There will be no material on real estate tax matters included in the handbook. A "kick-off" meeting for the participating authors has been scheduled for October 30th. The deadline for submission of chapter manuscripts will be March 1, 2004. Many of the recruited authors are current members of the SALT Section Council.

J. Penalty Review (SB 1903) - Cichowski (Chair)

Stan Cichowski reported that two or three organizations are looking at the penalty provisions enacted with SB1903. He reported that the matter may come up during the legislative veto session but that it will be tough to have the newly enacted legislation repealed, as the projected penalty income has already been incorporated into the budget. Although options are likely to be limited, one option being considered is to change the penalty provision back to the way it was.

A. ISBA Bar News - Norris

Chairman Norris reported that SALT is getting good publicity. The upcoming seminar has been prominently promoted, featuring several photographs of participating speakers.

B. Attorney General Opinions - O'Neill

Dan O'Neill could not be in attendance, but previously advised Chairman Norris that there were no new AG opinions to report.

C. Local Government - White

Judge White reported that the Local Government Newsletter has a summary of recent legislation.

A. Chicago License Hold Ordinance - Kaminski (Exhibit A)

See above.

B. Status of PTAB Appeals (Bosch and Lurie Cases) - Seitz

Bill Seitz reported that the Illinois Supreme Court has denied the Petition for Leave to Appeal the Bosch decision. The potential ramifications of the PLA denial will be discussed at the upcoming SALT Seminar.

A spirited discussion ensued as the SALT Section Council debated the meaning of Bosch and how strategies and procedures will change at the Board of Review and the PTAB. Particularly troublesome was the Appellate Court's opinion that de novo hearings at the PTAB have to be based on issues and evidence offered at the Board of Review. Was this part of the decision dicta? Some council members felt there was substantial ambiguity in the decision, while other's believed the decision to be very clear on the de novo review issue. Since the decision conflicts with opinions from the other four appellate court districts, does Bosch change long standing procedures outside of Cook County? Some council members felt that attorneys might now have a legal duty to conduct a more formalized hearing at the Board of Review in order to preserve meaningful appeal rights at the PTAB. Others questioned whether or not this was even possible, given the enormous quantity of assessment complaints presented at the Board of Review, given the limited time available to render decisions so the assessment appeal process can be completed in an appropriate time frame. Other practical issues were discussed, such as, how does one preserve the "evidence" presented by the Board of Review Commissioners, when they have not testified as witnesses and when they haven't presented any evidence?

Because Bosch raises so many unanswered questions, the SALT discussion turned to possible legislative solutions to these potential problems. Tim Moran reported that a Civic Federation Forum was being held next week to discuss these issues. Karen Dimond circulated a legislative proposal sponsored by the Taxpayer's Federation which specifically addresses the de novo review issue. There was considerable speculation among the SALT Section Council members as to whether some of these issues would be addressed during the upcoming legislative veto session, or whether legislation would have to wait until spring.

Mark Lane moved that the SALT Section Council support the concept of the Taxpayer's Federation proposal amending Section 16-180 of the Property Tax Code which seeks to reiterate that de novo review at the PTAB means de novo review. The motion was seconded, and upon a vote of the section council members passed: 12 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstention.

It was generally agreed that the most effective approach to achieving a legislative solution would be to get all the special interest groups to meet and agree to a compromise bill. It was suggested that SALT try to organize such a meeting. It was pointed out that SALT should not act without ISBA authority, but rather, the proposal should go through Don Houlihan, the ISBA legislative counsel.

Tim Moran suggested that SALT move up its next meeting so that SALT could revisit these issues with more current information from the legislative veto session. Chairman Norris advised that he would try to schedule a meeting for November 10, 2003 at 12:00 noon at Chicago's ISBA office.

A. Streamlined Sales Tax Issue - Cichowski

No report. Stan Cichowski had to leave the meeting. Julie-April Montgomery suggested that there would be a "lot of activity" if streamlining goes through because it will have a substantial impact on all local taxing systems.

B. Judicial Evaluation Committee (Exhibit B)

President Lavin has advised all ISBA members that ISBA has voted to withdraw from the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening and that ISBA will be conducting its own judicial evaluations. President Lavin is seeking volunteers to participate in the judicial evaluation process. Mary Ann Connelly reported that, although time consuming, it is a great experience.

C. IDOR Tax Amnesty Program (See ISBA website)

The Tax Amnesty Program will end on November 17, 2003. The program seeks to give delinquent taxpayers a "second chance" and more importantly, raise a substantial amount of revenue for the state. Information on this program has been presented in the most recent SALT Newsletter.