Chicago voluntary hospitals face tax-exemption loss

Hospitals around Chicago are sweating from more than the 100-degree heat. The Cook County tax assessor is doing a detailed examination of property owned by more than 50 not-for-profit hospitals. The Chicago Tribune reports that some have received unnerving letters that they read as threatening their tax-exempt status. State's Attorney Lisa Madigan is after not-for-profits in general to make sure they fulfill their charity care obligations. A downstate hospital's property tax exemption was yanked in 2003 because its county board said it was too aggressive in trying to collect from the poor and uninsured. That decision is under appeal right now, but the Cook County assessor is updating the valuations on hospital-owned properties in case state or county officials want to make similar moves toward any of the hospitals around Chicago and its nearby suburbs. Many own juicy parcels in upscale neighborhoods, and their potential property tax liability runs into the hundreds of millions.

To get more detail on Chicago-area hospitals' dilemma:
- read the Trib report here