In the recent case of Mertes v. Village of Mt. Prospect (2024 IL App (1st) 221787), the Appellate Court considered a dispute over whether a Village firefighter, Eric Mertes, was properly determined to have suffered line-of-duty injuries that were “catastrophic” pursuant to the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act, also known as PSEBA, and if the Village was required to pay for Mertes’ health insurance coverage.

Between 1999 and 2012, Mertes suffered a series of back injuries while responding to emergency calls, and in several instances when he was not responding to emergencies. The Village’s Firefighters’ Pension Fund granted…
Continue Reading Appellate Court Sends Municipalities Another Warning on the Dangers of Failing to Properly Administer Benefits Under PSEBA

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued opinions in two cases involving First Amendment challenges to social media activity – Lindke v. Freed and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier.

In Lindke, the City Manager of Port Huron, Michigan had a personal Facebook profile. He deleted comments from a commenter and the City Manager blocked the commenter from future posts on the City Manager’s personal Facebook page. The commenter sued the City Manager under 42 U.S.C. §1983 alleging that the City Manager had violated his First Amendment rights. The commenter argued that he had the right to comment on the City Manager’s Facebook…
Continue Reading New Social Media Guidance from the Supremes!

In 2022, an inmate sent a letter to the mayor of Taylorville, IL complaining about the City attorney and other matters. The letter also included a FOIA request for a copy of the letter. The City’s FOIA officer denied the inmate’s FOIA request. The inmate filed a complaint under FOIA arguing that when the mayor received his letter it became a public record as defined by the FOIA and that there was no legal basis for denying his request for a copy of the letter. The City filed a motion to dismiss, which was granted by the circuit court. The…
Continue Reading Mayor is Not a “Public Body” Under FOIA

Local Government May Take Property Without Compensation if the Taking is Necessary to Protect Public Health and Safety

A recent Seventh Circuit decision re-affirmed precedent that, so long as the proper procedures are followed, local governments may take private property so long as the taking is necessary to protect public health and safety. In the recent case of Willow Way, LLC v. Village of Lyons, Illinois, No. 22-1775, the Court considered a dispute over the Village’s demolition of a dilapidated house on property owned by Willow Way, LLC. Willow Way argued that the demolition was a taking without compensation…
Continue Reading A Case of Nuisance Abatement and Substantive Due Process

In Lehhy, et al. v City of Carbondale, 2023 IL APP  220542 the Plaintiff alleged that the City’s administrative fees were unconstitutional and that the City was reimbursed twice for the costs through administrative/ordinance fees and the Illinois Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act (Act).

The ordinance at issue addresses the towing and impounding of vehicles involved in a crime and provides two levels of administration fees. The City Code makes Level One a fee of $400 and Level Two a fee of $200. The complaint alleged that the City’s ordinance setting forth administrative fees had no reasonable relationship to…
Continue Reading Municipal Towing and Administrative Fees Found to be Constitutional