When determining the political composition of a county board of review under Illinois Property Tax Code section 6-15, do you count the office of circuit court clerk as a county office?
Plain-English summary
Each Illinois county has a Board of Review that hears property tax assessment appeals. Section 6-15 of the Property Tax Code requires the board to be politically balanced: members are appointed in proportion to the political composition of the most recent county-office elections. The Bond County State's Attorney asked a narrow but real-world question: when figuring out the political balance, do you count the office of circuit court clerk as a county office?
Attorney General Lisa Madigan concluded no. The clerk of the circuit court holds a constitutional office that serves the judicial branch, not a "county office" in the meaning of section 6-15. The political composition of the Bond County Board of Review therefore had to be based on the results of an election for an actual county office. In Bond County's case, the practical fallback was the county coroner election.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2017. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Historical summary
Why the question matters
A county Board of Review hears assessment-appeals from property owners contesting their valuations. Because the board can affect tax bills significantly, the legislature wanted political balance: in counties where one party dominates, the minority party still gets representation. Section 6-15 implements balance by tying board appointments to recent county-office election results.
The mechanical question: which elections count? In Bond County, the State's Attorney was an obvious option, but the circuit clerk election was being considered too. The AG had to decide whether circuit clerk qualifies.
Why circuit clerk doesn't count
The Illinois Constitution treats the clerk of the circuit court as part of the judicial branch's apparatus, not as a county officer. The clerk serves the court, not the county board, and the clerk's duties relate to court records, filings, and judicial administration. Reading "county office" to include circuit clerk would expand the definition beyond its constitutional and statutory meaning.
What this meant for Bond County
Without circuit clerk to look to, Bond County had to use whatever county office election produced the political composition data needed for the Board of Review's political balance. The county coroner election was the readily available election that fit. That meant the political composition determination tracked the coroner race, even though the coroner is otherwise unrelated to property tax appeals.
Common questions
Q: What is a Board of Review?
A: A three-member county body that hears property owners' appeals from assessment valuations. Most counties have one. Cook County has its own structure under separate provisions.
Q: Why does the Board of Review need political balance?
A: To prevent one-party domination from tilting decisions on assessment appeals. Section 6-15 requires the board's composition to reflect the political balance of the county.
Q: How is political balance determined?
A: By looking at the most recent county-office election results. The party getting more votes in the relevant election gets a majority; the other party gets a member.
Q: What other county offices count?
A: Sheriff, county clerk, treasurer, coroner, recorder, and similar are county offices for these purposes. State's Attorney is a state-level office (it represents the State of Illinois) but is elected at the county level and typically counts.
Q: Does this opinion apply outside Bond County?
A: The reasoning would apply to any Illinois county that has to determine Board of Review political balance. The conclusion about circuit clerk not counting as a county office is generally applicable.
Background and statutory framework
Property Tax Code § 6-15 governs the political balance of county Boards of Review. The provision is a structural one: it defines who must serve, not how decisions are made. The political-composition requirement traces to longstanding Illinois policy that quasi-judicial assessment-review bodies should reflect both major parties.
The Illinois Constitution divides government among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Court clerks fall under the judicial branch even though they are elected at the county level. That constitutional placement is the backbone of the AG's reasoning.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- 35 ILCS 200/6-15 (Board of Review political composition)
Source
- Index page: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/
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Index page: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/
- Original PDF: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/dA/f70bc9bcd7/2017%2017-001%20OFFICERS%20Determining%20Political%20Composition%20of%20Board%20of%20Review.pdf
Original opinion text
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Lisa Madigan
ATTORNEY GENERAL January 6, 2017
FILE NO. 17-001
OFFICERS:
Determining Political Composition
of Board of Review
State's Attorney, Bond County
Bond County Courthouse
Greenville, Illinois 62246
The Honorable Christopher J. T. Bauer | /
Dear Mr. Bauer:
court cler
of a board df r&yiew pursugnt fo section 6-15 of the Property Tax Code (the Code) (35 ILCS
200/6-15 (West or the reasons stated below, it is my opinion that the office of circuit
court clerk is not a county office within the meaning of section 6-15 of the Code. Accordingly,
the composition of the board of review may not be determined based upon the results of an
election for circuit court clerk.
500 South Second Street, Springfield, [linois 62706 © (217) 782-1090 © ‘TTY: (217) 785-2771 © Fax: (217) 782-7046
100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Hlinois 60601 © (312) 814-3000 © TTY: (312) 814-3374 © Fax: (312) 814-3806
tOO1 Ease Main. Carbondale. [linois 62901 © (61%) 529-6400 © TTY: (618) 529-6d02 © Fax: (618) 579-4414 + Seana
The Honorable Christopher J. T. Bauer - 2
BACKGROUND
Bond County is a county under township organization with a population of less
than 3,000,000,' which does not have an elected board of review. Section 6-5 of the Code (35
ILCS 200/6-5 (West 2014)) governs the selection of the board of review in such counties:
In counties under township organization with less than
3,000,000 inhabitants in which no board of review is elected under
Section 6-35 [of the Property Tax Code],”! there shall be an
appointed board of review to review the assessments made by the
supervisor of assessments. When there is no existing appointed
board of review, the chairman of the county board shall appoint,
with approval of the county board, 3 citizens of the county to
comprise the board of review for that county, 2 to serve for a one
year term commencing on the following June 1, and one to serve
for a 2 year term commencing on the same date. When an
appointed board of review already exists, successors shall be
appointed and qualified to serve for terms of 2 years commencing
on June 1 of the year of appointment and until their successors are
appointed and qualified. (Emphasis added.)
Section 6-15 of the Code addresses the political composition of a board of review and provides:
The board of review appointed under Section 6-5 shall
consist of 3 members, 2 of whom are affiliated with the political
party polling the highest vote for any county office in the county at
the last general election prior to any appointment made under this
Section. The third member shall not be affiliated with that same
‘Based on 2010 Federal decennial census figures, the population of Bond County is 17,768. See
Illinois Blue Book 439 (2013-2014).
Section 6-35 of the Code (35 ILCS 200/6-35 (West 2014)) applies to counties with 150,000 or
more and less than 3,000,000 inhabitants which had an elected board of review on January 1, 1993.
The Honorable Christopher J. T. Bauer - 3
party. Each member of the board of review shall receive an annual
salary to be fixed by the county board and paid out of the county
treasury.”! (Emphasis added.)
According to your letter, at the 2016 General Election in Bond County, all of the
county-wide races were uncontested. The candidate for circuit court clerk, a member of the
Republican Party, received the highest total number of votes. The candidate for coroner, a
member of the Democratic Party, received the next highest total number of votes. You inquire
whether the office of circuit court clerk is considered a "county office" for purposes of
determining the political composition of the board of review.
This office construed an earlier version of section 6-15 of the Code to mean that only contested
elections should be used in determining the composition of a board of review. See, e.g., 1991 Ill. Att'y Gen. Op. 39,
4] ("the political affiliation of the members of the board of review [must] be based upon a race for a single county
office for which there are two or more candidates running"); 1979 Ill. Att'y Gen. Op. 46, 47 (it is necessarily implied
that the election used to determine the composition of a board of review must be a contested election). At the time
that those opinions were issued, section 6-15 of the Code provided, in pertinent part:
The board of review shall at all times consist of 2 members affiliated
with the political party polling the highest vote for any county office in the
county, and one member of the party polling the second highest vote for the
same county office in the county at the last general election in the county prior to
the time any appointment is made by virtue of this section. (Emphasis added.)
Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 120, par. 489; see also Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 120, par.
489.
Public Act 98-322, effective August 12, 2013, however, deleted the reference in section 6-15 to "the party polling
the second highest vote for the same county office[.]" An amendatory change in the language of a statute creates a
presumption that it was intended to change the statute as it formerly existed. People v. McChriston, 2014 IL 115310,
418, 4 N.E.3d 29, 34 (2014), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 59 (2014), quoting People v. Jackson, 2011 IL 110615, 918,
955 N.E.2d 1164, 1170-71 (2011). Based upon the deletion of the phrase that had been cited as limiting the
application of section 6-15 to contested elections for county offices, it is presumed that the General Assembly
intended to allow consideration of the results of both uncontested and contested elections when determining the
political composition of a board of review.
The Honorable Christopher J. T. Bauer - 4
ANALYSIS
Circuit court clerks were referred to as county officers in article X, section 8, of
the Illinois Constitution of 1870. When the Illinois Constitution of 1870 was amended with the
Judicial Article of 1962, effective January 1, 1964, however, clerks were reclassified as "non-
judicial officers of the various courts[.]" Ill. Const. 1870, art. VI (amended 1964), §20. This
classification was carried forward in article VI, section 18, of the Illinois Constitution of 1970,
which provides, in pertinent part:
(a) The Supreme Court and the Appellate Court Judges of
each Judicial District, respectively, shall appoint a clerk and other
non-judicial officers for their Court or District.
(b) The General Assembly shall provide by law for the
election, or for the appointment by Circuit Judges, of clerks and
other non-judicial officers of the Circuit Courts and for their terms
of office and removal for cause. (Emphasis added.)
In opinion No. S-639, issued October 26, 1973 (1973 Ill. Att'y Gen. Op. 171),
Attorney General Scott was asked whether the circuit court clerk is a county officer for purposes
of the limitations on mid-term salary changes set out in the Local Government Article of the
Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, §9(b)). In concluding that the circuit
court clerk is not subject to the compensation limitations applicable to officers of units of local
government, Attorney General Scott advised that the Judicial Article of 1962 abrogated the
classification of the circuit court clerk as a county officer. Drawing support from the debates of
The Honorable Christopher J. T. Bauer - 5
the Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention, Attorney General Scott concluded that the circuit
court clerk "is a non-judicial officer of the judicial branch of state government." 1973 Ill. Att'y
Gen. Op. at 175.
The Illinois Supreme Court has similarly concluded that circuit court clerks are
non-judicial officers of the judicial branch of State government. See Walker v. McGuire, 2015 IL
117138, §30, 39 N.E.3d 982, 989 (2015) ("[a]lthough clerks of the circuit courts are officers of
the judicial branch of government, they are * * * nonjudicial officers" (emphasis in original) and
thus are not subject to the judicial fee officer prohibition in article VI, section 14, of the Illinois
Constitution of 1970); Pucinski v. County of Cook, 192 Ill. 2d 540, 545, 737 N.E.2d 225, 228
(2000) ("clerks of the circuit courts are nonjudicial officers of the judicial branch of state
government and not employees of the counties"); County of Kane v. Carlson, 116 Ill. 2d 186,
200, 507 N.E.2d 482, 486 (1987) ("[t]he circuit clerk is a nonjudicial officer of the judicial
branch of government"); Drury v. County of McLean, 89 Ill. 2d 417, 420, 433 N.E.2d 666, 667
(1982) ("[w]e hold that under our constitution of 1970 the clerks of the circuit courts in this State
are not county officials, but are nonjudicial members of the judicial branch of State
government"). Accordingly, a circuit court clerk is not a county officer, and the election of a
circuit court clerk may not be considered an election for a "county office" for purposes of
determining the political composition of a board of review under section 6-15 of the Code.’
4See also 1991 Ill. Att'y Gen. Op. at 40 (election of a resident circuit judge could not be used to
determine the political composition of a board of review because "resident circuit judges, even though elected within
each county, are elected as officers in the judicial branch of State government pursuant to article VI of the
Constitution").
The Honorable Christopher J. T. Bauer - 6
The office of county coroner, on the other hand, is clearly a county office. The
Local Government Article of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 (Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, §4(c)),
includes the county coroner among the list of county officers that each county may elect or
appoint.°
CONCLUSION
It is my opinion that the office of clerk of the circuit court is not a county office
for purposes of determining the political composition of the Bond County Board of Review
under section 6-15 of the Property Tax Code. Therefore, it will be necessary to base any
appointments to the board of review on the results of the election for county coroner.
Very truly, yours,
—
J
LISA MADIGAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL
’Article VII, section 4(c), of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 provides:
Each county shall elect a sheriff, county clerk and treasurer and may
elect or appoint a coroner, recorder, assessor, auditor and such other officers as
provided by law or by county ordinance. Except as changed pursuant to this
Section, elected county officers shall be elected for terms of four years at general
elections as provided by law. Any office may be created or eliminated and the
terms of office and manner of selection changed by county-wide referendum.
Offices other than sheriff, county clerk and treasurer may be eliminated and the
terms of office and manner of selection changed by law. Offices other than
sheriff, county clerk, treasurer, coroner, recorder, assessor and auditor may be
eliminated and the terms of office and manner of selection changed by county
ordinance.