Local Government Law

WC Media, Inc. v. Village of Gilberts

WC Media, Inc. v. Village of Gilberts
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Ordinances
Citation
Case Number: 
2020 IL App (2d) 190250
Decision Date: 
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
District: 
2d Dist.
Division/County: 
Kane Co.
Holding: 
Affirmed.
Justice: 
ZENOFF

Plain language of amended village ordinance allows billboards up to 80 square feet and 10 feet high. Restrictions in amended ordinance are not contrary to customary use. Compliance with local zoning regulations does not deprive an advertiser of its right to operate in business areas. Whether an advertiser finds it commercially advantageous to do so is not a relevant criterion in determining validity of an ordinance.  Ordinance is not in violation of the Highway Advertising Control Act. (BIRKETT and BURKE, concurring.)

Horsing Around

By Adam Kingsley
March
2020
Article
, Page 34
A recent First District Illinois Appellate Court opinion puts a new spin on the test for evaluating whether a municipal zoning ordinance is constitutional.

House Bill 4220

Topic: 
Toll Highway Act and personal information

(Sosnowski, R-Rockford) provides that the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority may make personally identifiable information of a person available to a law enforcement agency only under a search warrant. Requires the Authority to immediately but no later than five days to notify the person that his or her records have been obtained and shall provide the person with a copy of the search warrant and the identity of the law enforcement agency or peace officer to whom the records were provided unless the search warrant provides otherwise. Just introduced. 

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House Bill 4598

Topic: 
Public defender appointment

(Mayfield, D-Waukegan) authorizes the chair of the county board or the executive of a county board of commissioners to appoint the public defender with the advice and consent of the county board. The chair or executive may do this after receiving a recommendation or recommendations provided by an independent citizen's advisory council. This begins on July 1, 2021, on the expiration of each public defender's term of office in a county with under 1,000,000 population. It also provides for citizen advisory council membership and appointment requirements and excludes appointments of the same public defender in adjoining counties. Just introduced. 

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City of Centralia v. Garland

City of Centralia v. Garland
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Municipalities
Citation
Case Number: 
2019 IL App (5th) 180439
Decision Date: 
Friday, August 9, 2019
District: 
5th Dist.
Division/County: 
Marion Co.
Holding: 
Affirmed.
Justice: 
MOORE

 In consolidated appeal, Defendants appeal circuit court orders granting motions for summary judgment for City, on City’s complaints for removal of Defendants’ boat docks from Lake Centralia. When City acquired Lake Centralia in 1926, City was acting under the Cities and Villages Act, which gave City the broad power to acquire and hold real and personal property, City had power to acquire Lake Centralia. Section 2-2-12 of Municipal Code governs City’s authority to hold Lake Centralia as its property. City’s ownership of Lake Centralia gives City the power to regulate it.  (OVERSTREET and BOIE, concurring.)

House Bill 2124

Topic: 
Open Meetings Act

 (Welch, D-Westchester; Bush, D-Grayslake) allows a public body to hold closed meetings to consider the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public body. This would include hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against these individuals. Sent to the Governor. 

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Senate Bill 1712

Topic: 
Freedom of Information Act

(Koehler, D-Peoria; Burke, D-Oak Lawn) exempts from disclosure a public body's credit card numbers, debit card numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords, and similar account information if the disclosure could result in identity theft or impression or defrauding of a governmental entity or a person. Sent to the Governor on June 21, 2019. 

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Public Act 101-233

Topic: 
Open Meetings Act

(Kifowit, D-Aurora; Holmes, D-Aurora) allows an elected or appointed member of a public body of a municipality to satisfy the Open Meetings Act training requirements by participating in a course of training sponsored or conducted by an organization that represents municipalities as designated under a specified Section of the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides content requirements for the training. Effective January 1, 2020. 
 

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Knutson v. Village of Lakemoor

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Knutson v. Village of Lakemoor
Civil Court
Due Process
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 18-3729
Decision Date: 
August 1, 2019
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., E. Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Dist. Ct. did not err in dismissing for failure to state valid cause of action plaintiffs’ class action alleging that defendant-City violated their due process rights by issuing notices of red-light camera violations that failed to cite specific reference to section of municipal code that plaintiff had allegedly violated and by not including challenge to notice’s validity as available defense to instant code violation. Defendant provided plaintiff with adequate due process, where permitted defenses in code allowed plaintiffs to refute or alleviate their culpability, while plaintiffs’ desired notice defense had no bearing on plaintiffs’ culpability. Ct. rejected plaintiffs’ claim that notices were void ab initio due to failure to cite specific code violation, since any requirement for specific reference to code violation was merely directory, as opposed to mandatory. Moreover, plaintiffs had ample information to generate defense, where notices had multiple pictures of plaintiffs’ registered vehicle, along with time, date and location of violation.

Green v. Village of Winnetka

Green v. Village of Winnetka
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Utilities
Citation
Case Number: 
2019 IL App (1st) 182153
Decision Date: 
Friday, July 26, 2019
District: 
1st Dist.
Division/County: 
Cook Co., 6th Div,
Holding: 
Affirmed.
Justice: 
HARRIS

Plaintiff filed declaratory judgment action alleging that Village’s stormwater utility fee is not a fee but actually a tax that violates Illinois Constitution and Illinois Municipal Code. Statement of village engineer, that the amount of impervious area on a property is directly and proportionally related to an owner’s use of the stormwater system, provides the requisite relationship between impervious area and runoff. Village established a reasonable relationship to support the ordinance and fee. The fact that stormwater fee revenue is spent on capital improvements to stormwater system, and to pay bonds issued for those improvements, does not render fee a tax. Court properly granted summary judgment for Village upon cross-motions for summary judgment by Plaintiff and Village. (DELORT and CUNNINGHAM, concurring.)