Blog Authors

Latest from Municipal Minute

In Alan
Josephsen Co. Inc. v. Village of Mundelein
, an Illinois Appellate Court upheld the
decision of a Village’s hearing officer that found, among other things, that the Village had properly denied certain requested reimbursement claims made by a recycling company relating to an eminent domain action.In 2019, the Village of Mundelein brought an eminent domain action to obtain title to property that had been  operated as a recycling business by Alan Josephsen Co. Inc. (AJC). After AJC relocated its business, it sought reimbursement from the Village for its generated
expenses pursuant to the “self-move” provision of the Uniform
Continue Reading Court Upholds Hearing Officer’s Decision on Eminent Domain Relocation Expenses

In 2018, a requester submitted a FOIA request to the Illinois
State Police (ISP) seeking records regarding his FOID card, including his
application, any application denials, and other documents containing
information that would have made the requestor ineligible for a FOID card. ISP
denied the request in its entirety, citing section 7.5(v) of FOIA, which
exempts from disclosure the names and information of people who have applied
for FOID cards. After the requestor sued claiming that ISP violated FOIA by denying
his request, the circuit court ruled in favor of the requester and ordered ISP
to disclose the responsive FOID card
Continue Reading Person’s Own FOID Card Records Are Exempt from FOIA

In 2000, an industrial developer
(Industrial Developer) began construction of a transportation and logistics
hub in unincorporated Will County. The development was located adjacent to Union Pacific Rail tracks
that run parallel to an Illinois highway. Because the development was projected
to increase traffic on nearby roads, in 2001 the Village petitioned the
Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) for a permit to construct a
ground-level railroad crossing for an extended road that would relieve traffic
to and from the highway. The Village’s petition was granted and the railroad
crossing was completed in 2004.

In 2007, the Industrial Developer
and the Village
Continue Reading In the Zone: Illinois Appellate Court’s Interpretation of Annexation Agreement Favors Municipality

In 2021, a Wisconsin school district (District)
adopted Administrative Guidance for Gender Identity Support (Guidance) to provide direction
and resources to schools encountering students with questions about their gender identity. A group of parents filed a lawsuit against the District to challenge the Guidance, arguing that it violated their constitutional due process and free exercise rights because they claimed the Guidance interfered with the parents’ exclusive right to make decisions with and on behalf of their
children. The district court dismissed the complaint, and the parents appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

In Parents
Protecting Our Children v.

Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Dismisses Parents’ Challenge to School District’s Gender Identity Guidance

In 2023, a
person submitted a FOIA request to a County Sheriff’s Office seeking certain
video recordings of a County animal control facility. The County denied the request, alleging that disclosure would
interfere with a pending County investigation, and invited the requestor to
re-submit their request in 30 days. When the requestor submitted a new FOIA
request, the County again denied the request, this time arguing that the records were not public records subject to FOIA and that the records were exempt because they constituted records relating to the adjudication of employee grievances or disciplinary cases under section 7(1)(n) of
Continue Reading PAC Finds Public Body in Violation of FOIA for Withholding Video Footage

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a
City in a private religious school’s challenge to the City’s denial of permits to build outdoor athletic
lights . Edgewood
High School of the Sacred Heart Inc. v. City of Madison

A City created a unique zoning district, the Campus-Institutional-District
(CID), with specific procedures for granting zoning approvals. A private religious
school within the CID boundaries submitted a development plan (a required CID
procedure) to renovate its athletic facilities. The plan did not include building outdoor
athletic lighting which the school planned to do, and the City informed the
Continue Reading In the Zone: Seventh Circuit Upholds Denial of Outdoor Athletic Lights

As we reported
last week, the U.S. Supreme Court recently issued opinions in two cases
involving First Amendment challenges to government officials’ use of social
media (Lindke v. Freed and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier). To follow up on that post, we want to provide more insight into the new
test the Supreme Court announced in Lindke v.
Freed
 and that will be applied by the respective Courts of Appeals when these two cases are remanded.
In Lindke v. Freed, the U.S. Supreme Court held that when
a government official posts on social media, the official’s speech will only
Continue Reading Supreme Court’s Analysis: Use of Social Media by Government Officials

State law requires home rule municipalities to obtain voter approval before they can impose or increase a real estate transfer
tax. In November 2023, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution to place a referendum on the March 2024 ballot to modify the City’s real estate transfer tax. The ballot question proposed to decrease real estate transfer
taxes for properties sold for less than $1,000,000 and increase transfer taxes
for properties sold for more than $1,000,000.
A collection of local business and real estate organizations
challenged the proposed ballot question, arguing the proposal violated state statute and the Illinois Constitution. Plaintiffs argued that
Continue Reading Appellate Court Declines to Decide Challenge to Ballot Proposal

We have been following two pending appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court involving First Amendment challenges to government officials regarding their social media activities. The Supreme Court issued opinions in both cases today. We wanted to get a post out right away with a very brief summary of the two rulings and will plan a more detailed summary and explanation of the Court’s analysis next week.The first case involved a First Amendment lawsuit against a City Manager who had deleted critical comments and blocked the commenter from the City Manager’s personal Facebook page. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals had
Continue Reading BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules on Government Social Media Cases

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected new trial request in a
lawsuit brought by a former employee against a city clerk. Artis
v. Santos

In January 2016, a city clerk asked a junior clerk to
volunteer for two political campaigns, and the junior clerk declined. In February 2016, the city clerk fired the junior clerk, stating that the reason was the clerk’s previous felony conviction for stealing public funds. The junior clerk then sued the city clerk claiming the
termination was retaliation against his refusal to volunteer for the political campaigns in violation of his First Amendment free speech
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Rules Fired Clerk Not Entitled to New Trial

Cook County adopted two ordinances to impose a special retail tax on the purchase of firearms and firearm
ammunition. In 2015, a group of plaintiffs challenge the tax claiming it violated both the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Uniformity Clause of the Illinois Constitution. In that previous case (Guns Save Life v. Ali), the Illinois
Supreme Court found the tax to violate the
Uniformity Clause.
More recently, plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against the County claiming the tax was unconstitutional because it violates their Second Amendment rights, and seeking money damages for themselves and
Continue Reading Appellate Court Remands Second Amendment Challenge to County Gun Taxes

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a Village in excluding evidence regarding damages arising from a Village’s
decision to deny a special use permit to operate a strip club. Chicago
Joe’s Tea Room v. Village of Broadview

In 2006, the club owner (Owner) tried to open a strip club,
but the Village denied the Owner a special use permit. The Owner filed a lawsuit
in May 2007 alleging multiple issues that were resolved in complicated court
proceedings between 2008 and 2018. The only issue remaining was whether the
Owner was owed damages over the denial of
Continue Reading In the Zone: Seventh Circuit Rules on Damages Claims in Strip Club Lawsuit

An Illinois Appellate Court recently found candidates
substantially complied with the Election Code against a challenge to the language on the circulator’s certification. Gallagher v. Cook County Officers Electoral Board.
Candidates for the office of
Appellate Court Judge filed nomination papers to be included on the March
2024 primary election ballot. The nomination papers included affidavits
certifying their petitions were signed during the required statutory
period. Objectors claimed the candidates’ affidavits did not comply with the
Election Code (Code) because the date range deviated from the Code’s required language,and the candidates should not be on the ballot.
The affidavits contained
Continue Reading Court Finds Substantial Compliance with Election Code

In 2010, a driver was convicted of driving under the
influence of alcohol and appealed, claiming her conviction was “void” because the Village prosecuted
her without the written permission of the County State’s Attorney as required by Section 16-102(c) of the Illinois Vehicle Code. That section provides that “The State’s Attorney of the county in
which the violation occurs shall prosecute all violations [of the Code] except when the violation
occurs within the corporate limits of a municipality, the municipal attorney may prosecute if
written permission to do so is obtained from the State’s Attorney.”
The Appellate Court upheld her conviction
Continue Reading Driver’s DUI Conviction Upheld

Chavez participated in a taser training conducted by a part-time police officer. During the training, the instructor inadvertently tased both Chavez and the spotter who was meant to catch Chavez’s fall. As a result, Chavez fell and was injured. He filed suit against the instructor and the municipality, claiming he was injured because of the
instructor’s failure to conduct the course in a reasonably safe manner and that the
instructor should have placed mats to catch his fall.
The defendants argued they were entitled to discretionary immunity under the Local Governmental
and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (Act). The Act
Continue Reading Instructor and Municipality Had Immunity for Taser Injury

An Illinois Appellate Court recently reversed a trial court order that a firefighter pension fund board of trustees (Pension Board) must hold a new
hearing, finding that the Pension Board had provided sufficient due process to the former deputy chief. Ibrahim
v. Romeoville Firefighters’ Pension Fund

A month before the deputy fire chief retired, the mayor and village board increased the deputy chief’s salary from approximately $125,000 to $150,000. When the deputy chief applied to the Pension Board to receive his pension, the Pension Board approved payouts based on
the chief’s $125,000 salary. The deputy chief filed a request with
Continue Reading Former Deputy Chief Not Entitled to Rehearing on Retirement Pension