Job Description:
The office of the Assessor is the only elected position that has statutory, pre-election requirements.  In larger jurisdictions, candidates must obtain the Certified Illinois Assessing Officer designation from the Illinois Property Assessment Institute.  In smaller jurisdictions, a basic course of instruction approved by the Department of Revenue is required.  Incumbent elected assessors must complete continuing education requirements before they can run for reelection.

The township assessor is more appropriately an appraiser.  The assessor's responsibilities include the mass appraisal of all taxable property within the township or a multi-township assessment district.

Mass appraisal requires that assessor to perform three fundamental yet vital duties:
  1) Discover, list and value all new construction within the jurisdiction.
  2) Ensure that existing property is valued at the appropriate statutory level of market value.
  3) Assure that similar property is valued in a uniform manner.

In order to fulfill these duties, assessor must annually determine what properties are being altered and visit each to collect data for use in determining market value for new construction. The assessor also must analyze recent sales and perform sales ratio studies to determine which areas require reassessment and must also analyze the fairness of assessments.  The assessor reports changes to county officials and also establishes homestead exemptions and responds to complaints about assessments.
Assessors must determine the market value of all taxable property, which is then assessed at 33 1/3 percent of that value.  Township assessors must use the same principles, techniques and methods as those applied by fee appraisers.

The purpose of the assessment is to apportion the tax burden as created by taxing district: schools, municipalities, park districts, counties and townships.  Assessors do not levy, collect or distribute tax revenues.

The assessor funds the office by submitting a detailed budget for approval by the township board.  Once the board approves the budget, the assessor may use the money for day-to-day operation of the office.