Commacho v. City of Joliet

The City of Joliet appealed from a judgment of the appellate court that reversed administrative decisions made by the city finding the plaintiffs liable for non-compliance with the city’s ordinances prohibiting overweight and/or over length vehicles. To resolve the appeal, the Illinois supreme court considered whether section 1-2.1-2 of the Illinois Municipal Code constitutionally preempted the city’s home rule authority and whether the ordinance violations at issue were properly subject to administrative adjudication under the city’s municipal code. The supreme court affirmed in part and vacated in part, finding that section 1-2.1-2 did not preempt the city’s home rule authority, but that the hearing officer’s administrative decisions were precluded by the Joliet Code of Ordinances. (THEIS, NEVILLE, HOLDER WHITE, CUNNINGHAM, and ROCHFORD, concurring. O’BRIEN took no part in the decision)