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​Freedom of Information Act Policy

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This policy is for the administration of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) by the Kane County Supervisor of Assessments, the Kane County Board of Review, and the Kane County Farmland Assessment Review Committee. The FOIA Officer for all bodies is the Supervisor of Assessments, who is by statute both the Clerk of the Board of Review and the Chairman of the Farmland Assessment Review Committee.

Record Requests.

Records requested from these public bodies under the Freedom of Information Act shall be made in writing to the FOIA Officer at 719 Batavia Avenue, Geneva, Illinois 60134-3000 or using the contact us link at https://assessments.kanecountyil.gov/Pages/Contact-Form.aspx . If the request is for a commercial purpose as defined in the Act, the requestor must state in the request that the records will be used for a commercial purpose. The requestor will be notified as soon as the documents are available for inspection and/or copying.

Fees

There shall be no fee to inspect records. For copies, fees are set by statute and/or ordinance:

  • For paper copies of existing documents, charges shall be “35 cents per page of legal size or smaller and $1 for each larger page.” (See 35 ILCS 200/14-30.)
  • For existing electronic documents, the fee shall not exceed that which is authorized by FOIA.

Documents will not be provided until any applicable payment is received. A statement of valuation shall be provided to taxpayers for their own property(s) at no charge. In accordance with FOIA, fees may be reduced or waived entirely upon a written request that includes the specific purpose of the request (including whether the data will be used for any commercial purpose) and the public interest that would be served. The FOIA Officer has sole discretion to act in this area, and may request additional information in order to make a determination.

Records Maintained

The public bodies maintain the following types and categories of records. Please note that this list may include records that are partially or wholly exempt from disclosure under FOIA:

  • Abstracts of Assessments
  • Address/Name Change Requests
  • Administrative Correspondence Files
  • Applications for Authority to Dispose of Local Records and Records Disposal Certificates
  • Applications for Disaster Area Assessment
  • Applications for Homestead Exemptions
  • Applications for Valuation for Property Used for Open Space Purposes
  • Assessment Records in a DevNet database
  • Board of Review Complaint Dockets
  • Board of Review Complaint Forms and Files (incl. Certificates of Error, Real Estate Complaints, Corrections, etc.)
  • Budget and/or Budget Worksheets
  • Cash Receipts
  • Certificates of Publications and Copies of Publications
  • Certificates of Status on Exempt Property
  • Certifications from Department of Revenue (Petition for Tax Exemption)
  • Deeds (Copies)
  • Freedom of Information Act Request
  • Invoices, Vouchers, paid bills, and purchase requisitions (copies)
  • Legal Case Files
  • Mapping Divisions
  • Master Ownership Records (1971-1996)
  • Minutes and Agendas of the Board of Review
  • Model Home Applications and Valuation Cards
  • Monthly/Year-To-Date Reports
  • Personnel Files
  • Property Tax Appeal Board Decisions
  • Purchase Requisitions (Copies)
  • Real Estate Transfer Declarations
  • Sales Ratio Listings and Studies
  • Time Sheets
  • Veterans/Fraternal Organization Assessment Freeze Files
  • Weighted Adjustments to Equalization

About the Public Bodies

Purpose

The Supervisor of Assessments coordinates the countywide assessment process. Duties required under the Illinois Property Tax Code include:

  • Assembling township assessors for instruction on the assessment process;
  • Preparing and maintaining tax maps and parcel ownership information;
  • Receiving and analyzing township assessment rolls;
  • Equalizing assessments within the county or any area therein;
  • Applying various exemptions to homestead properties;
  • Publishing the assessment roll for each township;
  • Providing mailed notice to owners of property with revised assessments;
  • Certifying assessment roll to the Board of Review;
  • Reporting statistical abstracts to the Illinois Department of Revenue;
  • Chairing the Farmland Assessment Review Committee; and
  • Serving as Clerk of the Board of Review.

The Board of Review hears assessment complaints made under the Illinois Property Tax Code. Its duties include:

  • Convening on or before the first Monday in June of the assessment year;
  • Adopting and publishing rules and procedures;
  • Hearing complaints and correcting assessments for the current assessment year as appears to be just;
  • Reviewing and ruling on applications for exemptions;
  • Issuing certificates of error for the prior assessment year until judgment;
  • Certifying the assessment roll to the County Clerk; and
  • Adjourning by March 15 of the year following the assessment year.

The Farmland Assessment Review Committee analyzes the statutory practices for the valuation of farm land under the Illinois Property Tax Code. Its duties include:

  • Meeting on or about June 1;
  • Holding a public hearing on the equalized assessed values proposed by the Department of Revenue for the following taxable year;
  • If concurring with the proposed valuations, instructing the Supervisor of Assessments to implement those valuations; and
  • If objecting to the proposed valuations, making alternate recommendations to the Department of Revenue by August 1.

Functional Subdivisions

None of these three public bodies have any functional subdivisions.

Operating Budget

The FY 2026 operating budgets are $1,065,610 for the Supervisor of Assessments and $122,687 for the Board of Review; the Farmland Assessment Review Committee’s expenses are nominal and are included in Supervisor of Assessments budget.

Functional Subdivisions

Each of the public bodies share a single office at the Kane County Government Center, 719 Batavia Avenue, Geneva, Illinois 60134-3000.

Employees

The Supervisor of Assessments is appointed by the Chairman of the Kane County Board with the advice and consent of the County Board. The Supervisor of Assessments has 15 additional full-time positions. The Board of Review consists of three full members appointed by the of the Kane County Board with the advice and consent of the County Board. There may be additional members appointed by the Chairman of the Kane County Board. The administrative functions of the Board are discharged by the Supervisor of Assessments, who shall act as the Clerk of the Board. The Farmland Assessment Review Committee consists of five members: three appointed by the of the Kane County Board with the advice and consent of the County Board, the Supervisor of Assessments by virtue of office, and the chairman of the Board of Review by virtue of office.

Relationship to Other Bodies

The Kane County Farmland Assessment Review Committee operates in an advisory capacity to the Supervisor of Assessments. Except for reports to the Kane County Board of Review and to the Illinois Department of Revenue as required by the Illinois Property Tax Code, there is no board, commission, committee, or council to which the Supervisor of Assessments is required to report and be answerable for its operations, as “the General Assembly intended that the office of supervisor of assessments operate free from interference in the important and often highly unpopular function of assessing property for purposes of taxation.” Heller v. County Board of Jackson County, 1978, 71 Ill.App.3d 31, 37. No board, commission, committee, or council operates in an advisory capacity relative to the operation of the Board of Review. No board, commission, committee, or council exercises control over the Board of Review’s policies, as the Board of Review has the authority to promulgate its own rules and procedures. Except for reports to the County Clerk and to the Illinois Department of Revenue as required by the Illinois Property Tax Code, there is no board, commission, committee, or council to which the Board of Review is required to report and be answerable for its operations.

Severability

In the event any section, provision, or term of this policy is determined by a court or other authority of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, that determination shall not affect the remaining sections or provisions, which shall continue in full force and effect. For this purpose, the provisions of this policy are severable.

Amendments

This policy may be amended from time to time; said amendments are effective upon their being conspicuously posted and prominently displayed at the offices of these public bodies.

(Updated February 2026)