Form Pt 05-34 - Property Tax Claim - Charitable Ownership/use Page 10
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16Supreme Court, in Eden, repeated what it had held years ago, in Methodist Old Peoples
Home v. Korzen, 39 Ill. 2d 149, 155, 233 N.E.2d 537, 540 (1968):
Since the terms of article IX of the constitution
subject all property generally to taxation, the courts have
strictly construed statutes granting tax exemptions and have
insisted that they keep clearly within the boundaries set
forth in the constitution. [citations omitted] The burden of
proving the right to exemption is upon the party seeking it,
and in determining whether property is included within the
scope of an exemption, all facts are to be construed and all
debatable questions resolved in favor of taxation. [citations
omitted] Plaintiffs must show that its organization and the
use of its property came within the provisions of the statute
and the constitution.
Eden, 213 Ill. 2d at 287, 821 N.E.2d at 248 (quoting Methodist Old Peoples Home, 39 Ill.
2d at 155, 233 N.E.2d at 540) (emphasis added by Eden court).
The property at issue here was denied exempt status because the Department
determined that the property was not in exempt ownership, and that it was not in exempt
use. Department Ex. 1. Thus, SPI has the burden to show that, during roughly the last
quarter of 2003, it was an institution of public charity, and that the property was, during
the same period, actually and exclusively used for charitable purposes, and not leased or
otherwise used with a view to profit. 35 ILCS 200/15-65; Eden, 213 Ill. 2d at 287, 821
N.E.2d at 248.
When considering whether an entity is organized and operated exclusively for
charitable purposes, or, in other words, whether it is an institution of public charity,
Illinois courts and the Department follow the guidelines announced by the Illinois
Supreme Court in Methodist Old Peoples Home, 39 Ill. 2d 149, 233 N.E.2d 537. Those
guidelines ask whether:
(1) the benefits derived are for an indefinite number of
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