Illinois High Court: Nonprofit Hospital Can Be Taxed

March 19, 2010 · Posted in general · Comment

By SUZANNE SATALINE

An Illinois Catholic medical center isn’t a charitable enterprise and must pay property taxes, the state’s highest court ruled Thursday in a case that has been closely watched by hospitals nationwide.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled 3-2 that the state was correct when it decided in 2002 that the charity care provided by Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana was too paltry to permit the nonprofit to qualify for a tax exemption. The court also ruled that the hospital, run by three Catholic religious orders, didn’t qualify for a religious exemption.

“Provena Hospitals,” the justices wrote, “failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that itdispensed charity to all who needed it and applied for [it].”

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