After several years in the making, the new Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal will begin hearing cases on January 1, 2014. The Tribunal will take jurisdiction over cases where the tax liability at issue exceeds $15,000. Prior to the Tribunal, all cases protesting a Notice of Deficiency, Notice of Tax Liability, Notice of Claim Denial, and Notice of Penalty Liability would be heard by the Illinois Department of Revenue’s Office of Administrative Hearings. The Tribunal was designed to be independent of the Department and will have a separate budget and office location. Tribunal cases will mirror litigation in the Circuit Court, requiring the filing of a Complaint and Answer and utilizing the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure and Circuit Court rules of evidence and privilege. Although there are many unknowns as to how the Tribunal will function, practitioners could potentially see better results from a Tribunal that is independent and not influenced by the Department.