Legal Services Department

IAPD Seeks to Join Pollution Control Suit

The Illinois Association of Park Districts has filed a motion to join the Illinois Municipal League as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the case of People ex rel. Bosworth v. Lowen. Plaintiffs in the case are presently seeking leave for an appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.

The case raises issues as to the constitutionality of the current assessment practices of public utilities pollution control facilities. Illinois law provides that pollution control facilities be assessed by the Department of Revenue only "in relation to 33 1/3% of the fair cash value of their economic productivity to their owners". Prior to 1979 the Department of Revenue held the view that pollution control facilities owned by public utilities were economically productive within the meaning of the Revenue Code, since such facilities were included in a utilities rate base for rate making purposes, and thereby earned a return for utilities in the same manner as all other utility owned property.

In 1979, lobbying on behalf of utilities resulted in the passage of an act that drastically narrowed the Department's definition of "economic productivity". Therefore, under current practices these facilities have been removed from the tax assessment base because they do not produce a commercially saleable byproduct or increase productivity or reduce the cost of products or services. This is in spite of the fact that they continue to be included in the utility rate base for rate making purposes.

The Illinois Association of Park Districts feels that People ex rel. Bosworth v. Lowen merits our attention and strong support since the removal of such pollution control facilities from the tax base of local park districts will jeopardize those districts' budgets and ongoing programs. In Lake County, for example, over 66 million dollars of the Zion Nuclear Station has been exempted due to the legislative changes discussed above as heretofore supported by the courts.