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LaSalle County assessor warns many township assessors are behind on quadrennial work; board discusses enforcement and hiring
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Summary
Chief county assessment officer Abby Craft told the committee that several township assessors have completed only a small fraction of required quadrennial reassessments, and the board discussed enforcement mechanisms under 35 ILCS 216/20–90 and options including hiring county staff to assist.
Abby Craft, LaSalle County’s chief county assessment officer, told the committee on April 21 that the county’s final multiplier for the 2025 tax year is 1 and that county staff have begun a review of township assessment completion ahead of the 2027 quadrennial reassessment. Craft presented township completion percentages and said some townships have completed well under the expected portion of work; examples cited by board members included townships at 6–13% completion while others like LaSalle and Ottawa exceeded 80%.
"If certain townships continue down the path that they have been on for many years, we will need to do something about this," Craft said. She explained the county’s limited options: board review can summon an assessor to testify under oath and has authority related to specific assessments, but it cannot unilaterally change multipliers used in equalization. Craft cited statutory authority for board review and enforcement: "the statutory authority of the board review is found 35 ILCS 216/20–90," and she outlined enforcement tools including certificates of error and, in extreme cases, misdemeanor penalties for willful neglect.
Board members pressed for remedies and suggested practical steps such as asking the salary and labor committee to fund a county-hired assessor to assist townships, and outreach to legislators to consider statutory changes. One commissioner noted the county passed a resolution in 2016 permitting the county to charge townships for assessment completion work, but Craft said the county has not received approval or funding to hire staff for that purpose and lacks office space and budget to host extra assessors at present.
Discussion covered whether contracted assessors perform differently than elected assessors. Members noted that contracted assessors sometimes deliver more work but that townships often lack funds to offer performance incentives. Craft also described technical constraints: the quadrennial schedule requires field work beginning after winter, with township books due to the supervisor of assessments by June 15; county staff said the statutes and legacy processes date from older systems and create enforcement and practical challenges.
Next steps: Craft will provide requested breakdowns and documentation to the finance committee (including multi‑year comparisons of the Allen Otter Creek matter) and the board will consider whether to request funding for additional county assessment staff or pursue legislative remedies.
