Court correctly determined that City's home rule authority permits it to exempt itself, via an amended ordinance passed after Plaintiffs' amended complaint was filed, from statutory requirements as to water-utility billing. City's ordinance may be applied retroactively, as expressly stated in ordinance. There is no right to complimentary water usage under the Municipal Code, and consumers do not have a right to timely water billing.Plaintiffs could not have held a settled expectation as to any substantial interest such that retroactive application of ordinance is improper. Court properly granted Defendants' section 2-619 motion to dismiss, as Plaintiffs were not 3rd-party beneficiaries to the contract between Defendants and thus had no standing to pursue those claims. The contract does not clearly intend to directly benefit Plaintiffs. (HUTCHINSON and BIRKETT, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Ordinances