Tax tribunal to remain funded

T(The Center Square) – An independent tribunal created to resolve taxpayer disputes with the Illinois Department of Revenue is expected to keep operating, even though Gov. J.B. Pritzker left the agency out of his budget proposal.

The General Assembly established the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal in 2013.

After the governor sought to transfer the tribunal’s responsibilities back to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the tribunal’s chief administrative judge, James Conway, turned to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“I just ask for your continued support and somehow get us funded so we can keep going with the operation that we do, that you wanted us to do 12 years ago,” Conway said during a hearing on April 29.

The tribunal had a budget appropriation of $711,000 in fiscal year 2026, with an estimated expenditure of $702,000.

Pritzker’s spending plan for fiscal year 2027 eliminated funding for the tribunal, but lawmakers included appropriations for the agency in the $55.9 billion budget they passed on June 1st.

State Rep. Jay ...