Can I pay my Illinois property taxes under protest and challenge my assessment in court?

Illinois gives a taxpayer who is unhappy with a county Board of Review (BOR) decision two mutually exclusive escalation routes for that tax year:

1. Appeal to the state Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) within 30 days of the BOR decision under 35 ILCS 200/16-160; or 2. Pay the tax under protest and file a tax-objection complaint in the circuit court under 35 ILCS 200/23-5 through 23-30.

How the court route works. Under the tax-objection procedure (35 ILCS 200/23-5 et seq.), you pay your property tax bill, marking the disputed portion as paid under protest, and then file a complaint in the circuit court of the county. The court reviews whether the assessment was excessive or otherwise improper. If you win, you receive a refund of the over-paid amount.

You cannot use both routes for the same year. Choosing PTAB and choosing the circuit-court tax objection are alternatives — pursue one or the other for a given assessment year. For most homeowners, PTAB is the more practical path: it charges no filing fee for residential appeals and does not require paying the disputed tax up front or hiring a litigator. The court route is generally chosen for larger disputes, or where a legal (not just valuation) question is involved, and typically involves attorney's fees and litigation timelines.

Timing. The court route is tied to your tax-payment deadlines rather than the 30-day PTAB clock, so confirm the exact filing window with the circuit court clerk or your attorney. Because the two routes diverge after the BOR decision, decide early which one fits your situation, and preserve the BOR decision notice — both routes require it.

Bottom line: the pay-under-protest court complaint is a legitimate alternative to PTAB, governed by 35 ILCS 200/23-5 through 23-30, but it is an either/or choice and usually the costlier of the two.