URBANA, Ill.—The Carle Foundation Hospital is suing to recover its property tax exemption and the $5.4 million in taxes paid since most of its properties, including its 275-bed hospital, were added to the tax rolls in 2005. The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, argues that state law bars officials from revoking an established exemption unless the property is no longer used for the activity that won the break in the first place. In other words, Chief Financial Officer Rob Tonkinson said: “We showed it before. Nothing has changed. You can’t just be arbitrary and revoke our status.” The lawsuit names as defendants the Illinois Revenue Department and its director, and Champaign county and township officials. The Carle Foundation also is pursuing administrative review of Hamer’s conclusion that the hospital has provided too little charity care to warrant the exemption.
CINCINNATI—Christ Hospital and Brown County (Ohio) Regional HealthCare announced an affiliation agreement calling for cooperation among their hospitals and other facilities but no shared governance or exchange of assets. Under the agreement, 470-bed Christ Hospital will provide tertiary care to patients of the public one-hospital system—59-bed Brown County General Hospital in Georgetown is about 40 miles southeast of Cincinnati—and the new partners will collaborate on research, best practices and future treatment programs, Christ Hospital spokeswoman Heather Adkins said. Meanwhile, Christ Hospital remains entangled in a legal battle over its 2006 decision to withdraw from the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati.
