Local Government Law

Plaintiffs filed suit against Village and cell phone company, alleging that in granting special-use permit to cell phone company to install 9 additional antennae on tower (when 13 had been placed there previously) was a violation of ordinances passed by Village 16 years ago which granted special-use permit for construction of water tower, subject to the condition that "antennas on the tower are to be kept at a minimum". Plaintiffs have standing, as Municipal Code provides that an owner must show that his property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation, and need not prove any specific, special or unique damages. Claim of injuries caused by exposure to RF levels is preempted by the Telecommunications Act. The phrase "at a minimum" in ordinance is ambiguous, and thus court gives deference to the Village's interpretation. Plaintiffs failed to state a claim that the "at a minimum" requirement was violated. (O'MALLEY and HUDSON, concurring.)

(Court opinion corrected 10/14/10.) Suit filed by insurers to defeat any liability by them for coverage for administrative judgments against their insureds in administrative actions filed by City of Chicago. Insurer which obtained default orders against policyholder defendants still has standing to pursue the policyholders' claims, as no final declaratory judgment has been entered by trial court. A default order is no guarantee of ultimate success, so a plaintiff is permitted to pursue alternate theories of recovery until a final judgment is secured. Default judgment did not render insurer's claims moot, as public interest exception applies, because the pertinent issue, whether a municipality can pursue damages for motor vehicle accidents in an administrative proceeding, is a public question. (CAHILL and McBRIDE, concurring.)

City of Chicago ordinance imposes a tax of five cents on each single-use bottle of water purchased at retail, with tax to be collected from retail dealer by wholesale dealer, who remits the tax to the City. Ordinance excludes from definition of "bottled water" all soft drinks, vitamin water, mineral water, and products with flavoring, vitamins, caffeine, carbonation, or nutritional additives. Bottled water tax is not an occupation tax but a sales tax. Ordinance is reasonably related to purposes of raising revenue in way to conserve energy from nonrenewable sources and to reduce discharge of toxins and litter; thus, tax meets requirements of the uniformity clause of the Illinois Constitution. (FROSSARD and LAVIN, concurring.)

(Court opinion corrected 10/12/10.) Church which owned cemetery located on property which was subject of condemnation action, and several hundred relatives of those buried there, sought via traverse and motion to dismiss to prevent condemnation and destruction of cemetery. Federal district court had dismissed church's first amended complaints for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted; this dismissal was a final judgment on the merits, and res judicata applies to bar the present claim, as the relatives and federal case plaintiffs are privies as their claims arise from the same core religious beliefs and property interest they sought to protect. As City provided a specific timeline for the specific runway project that affects the property in question, there was sufficient compliance with quick-take provision of the Eminent Domain Act so that vesting of title by quick-take was proper. (ZENOFF and HUTCHINSON, concurring.)