Provena Covenant Medical Center v. Department of Revenue

              Filed 8/26/08 NO. 4-07-0763
IN THE APPELLATE COURT
OF ILLINOIS
FOURTH DISTRICT
PROVENA COVENANT MEDICAL CENTER and
PROVENA HOSPITALS,
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE OF THE STATE
OF ILLINOIS; and BRIAN A. HAMER, in His Official
Capacity as Director of the Illinois Department of
Revenue,
Defendants-Appellants.
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Appeal from
Circuit Court of
Sangamon County
No. 06MR597
Honorable
Patrick J. Londrigan,
Judge Presiding.
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PRESIDING JUSTICE APPLETON delivered the opinion of the court:
Provena Hospitals (Provena) brought an action for administrative review
of a decision by the Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (Department) that
Provena's property, Provena Covenant Medical Center (Covenant) in Urbana, Illinois,
did not qualify for an exemption from property taxes. The circuit court reversed the
Director's decision, holding that Covenant was used primarily for charitable and
religious purposes and, therefore, was exempt under sections 15-65(a) and 15-40(a)(1)
of the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/15-65(a), 15-40(a)(1) (West 2002)). We reverse
the circuit court's judgment because we find no clear error in the Director's decision.
I. BACKGROUND
Covenant is a not-for-profit, full-service, general acute-care hospital. As a
noncorporate subdivision of Provena, Covenant has no separate legal identity of its own.
Covenant is the property, and Provena is the owner. According to an organizational
chart in the record (applicant's exhibit No. 153), Provena owns five other hospitals