Keith Staats - Grant Thornton LLP

Keith Staats
JD
Senior Manager, State and Local Tax
Keith Staats is a Senior Manager in Grant
Thornton’s State and Local Tax (SALT) practice
in Chicago. Keith has experience in all aspects of
state and local taxation.
Experience
Through his previous experience with Grant
Thornton, Keith has been involved in tax
planning, consulting and dispute resolution in all
areas of state and local taxation. He has been
involved in representation of taxpayers before the
Illinois Department of Revenue Informal
Conference Board and Board of Appeals. He has
assisted clients in audit defense before the
Department and Revenue, as well as assisted
clients with tax planning
Industry experience
Prior to rejoining the firm Keith worked for a
large international law firm and was involved in
multistate tax planning, consulting and litigation.
During his time with the law firm, Keith also
spent a significant amount of time representing
hospitals and other health care organizations on a
variety of state tax matters, including property tax
and sales tax exemption matters. Keith also
served as General Counsel of the Illinois
Department of Revenue. In this role, Keith
provided legal advice and support on a wide
variety of tax matters. He was involved in the
development of Illinois tax policy through the
drafting and adoption of regulations and the
issuance of private letter rulings. Keith reviewed
and evaluated all tax-related legislation proposed
by the Illinois General Assembly, and was
involved in the drafting of all tax legislation
proposed by the Governor. He then testified
before legislative committees on proposed tax
legislation. Keith oversaw all tax-related litigation
involving the Illinois Department of Revenue,
and was a member of the Illinois Department of
Revenue Informal Conference Board.
Education
Millikin University Decatur, Illinois, B.A.; Illinois
Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of
Law, J.D. with honors.
Keith is licensed to practice law in Illinois.
Affiliations
Keith is a member of Illinois State Bar
Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and is a
professional affiliate member of the Illinois CPA
Society. He is a member of the State and Local
Tax Committees of each organization and was
formerly Chair of the CPA Society State and
Local Tax Committee.
© Grant Thornton LLP
All rights reserved
U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd

2
Keith is a frequent speaker on state tax matters
before groups such as COST, the Tax Executives’
Institute, and the Institute for Professionals in
Taxation and the Illinois Hospital Association.
Contact details
175 W. Jackson Blvd., 20 th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604
T: 312.602.8629
F: 312.602-8099
E: keith.staats@gt.com
© Grant Thornton LLP
All rights reserved
U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd