People ex rel. Dale v. Chicago, L.S.&E.R. Co.

• Decision Date: 20 February 1919
• Docket Number: No. 12361.,12361.
• Citation: 286 Ill. 576,122 N.E. 109
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court
• Parties: PEOPLE ex rel. DALE, County Collector, v. CHICAGO, L. S. & E. R. CO.

286 Ill. 576

122 N.E. 109

PEOPLE ex rel. DALE, County Collector,

v.CHICAGO, L. S. & E. R. CO.

No. 12361.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Feb. 20, 1919.

Appeal from Vermilion County Court; Lawrence T. Allen, Judge.

Application by the People, on the relation of Thomas J. Dale, County Collector, for judgment and order of sale for delinquent taxes. From a judgment overruling objections of the Chicago, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad Company to the application, the railroad company appeals. Reversed and remanded, with directions.

Knapp & Campbell, of Chicago, and Rearick & Meeks, of Danville (Royal B. Cushing, of Chicago, of counsel), for appellant.

John H. Lewman, State's Atty., of Danville, for appellee.

CARTER, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the county court of Vermilion county overruling objections of the appellant to the application of the county collector for judgment and order of sale for the delinquent taxes of 1917.

The appellant railroad company, as required by law, filed its annual return with the State Auditor setting forth the property owned by it April 1, 1917, for assessment by the State Board of Equalization. In this statement certain buildings situated on its railroad right of way at Rossville Junction, in said county, were valued at the full cash value at $23,915. The State Board of Equalization, which was authorized to assess the property, under the law, in the year 1917, in accordance with the usual practice of that body organized and appointed its various committees, including a railway committee, to report to the full board what valuations should be placed upon the various properties. The report of the railway committee for the year in question to the State Board of Equalization valued said buildings at six times the value given in the company's report to the State Auditor, and this property was assessed at its one-third value by the State Board of Equalization, in accordance with the full value recommended by the report of the railway committee, at $47,830; that is, the State Board of Equalization multiplied the company's estimate by six, so that the assessed one-third value is just double the full cash value returned by the railroad company to the State Auditor. The record also shows that the State Board of Equalization had adopted rules which provided that the reportof the railway committee should lie over for 48 hours after it was made to the state board before action was taken. The rules of said board also provided that it might suspend any of its rules at any time by a two-thirds vote. The report shows that, when the railway committee made its report as to the value that should be placed upon appellant's property, the rules of the board were suspended by unanimous vote and the board immediately approved said report, and the auditor certified to the county clerk of Vermilion county the valuation of said property at $47,830, and the assessment was levied and extended on that valuation. Appellant claims that the property was assessed arbitrarily at six times as much as it should have been assessed. It paid one-sixth of the taxes assessed on this property and objected to the payment of the remaining five-sixths.

Counsel for appellant argue that it is manifest from the record that the railway committee of the State Board of Equalization, without any real investigation as to the value of the property in question, increased the valuation certified to by the appellant company to six times such value, and that such increase was made arbitrarily and without any honest discretion being exercised by the railway committee or by the state board. They further argue that the evidence tends to show that the other property in that taxing district, and particularly the farm lands, was valued at not to exceed 50 per cent. of its fair cash value as a basis on which to compute the one-third or assessed value; that the extension or attempted collection of taxes on appellant's property, valued at ten or twelve times the rate other property was valued in the same taxing district, is clearly a fraudulent taxation as to appellant's property and contrary to the principles of our Revenue Law and of the state Constitution. Appellant offered testimony, which was received over objection in the county court, showing that the value of appellant's property was correctly returned in the report to the State Auditor, and there is no evidence offered by the state controverting this testimony; it being argued by counsel for appellee that evidence as to the actual value was improperly received by the county court.

[3] There can be no question that the State Board of Equalization has the power to increase the valuation of property returned by the officers of a corporation without hearing evidence impeaching the return made by said corporation's officers. Under the state Constitution it is the State Board of Equalization which assesses and fixes the value and not the owner. Said board may hear evidence in order to ascertain the value, but it may act upon its own knowledge and judgment as to the real value of the property without such evidence. St. Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute...