The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled against a billboard company in its First Amendment challenge to a county’s sign code. GEFT Outdoor, LLC v. Monroe County.   A billboard company sought to install a digital billboard which did not comply with the county’s sign code regulations. The company applied for a variance from the County’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZOA). After the BZOA denied the variance request, the billboard company sued the county under a First Amendment challenge claiming the sign code contained unconstitutional content-based restrictions on speech, and that the sign code’s permit procedures and variance…
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Upholds Sign Code Variance Procedure

An Illinois Appellate Court recently struck down a municipality’s amusement tax, finding the tax was “preempted” by federal law. Wendella Sighting Company v. City of Chicago. In 2008, a municipality amended its amusement tax ordinance to require that all amusement owners secure an amusement tax from patrons to be payable to the municipality’s revenue department. A sightseeing boat tour company operating on Lake Michigan and the Chicago River sought relief administratively after it was assessed $3.2 million in amusement taxes and interest from the municipality. An administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled in favor of the boat tour company on…
Continue Reading Amusement Tax on Tour Boat Operators Preempted by Federal Law

House Bill 2789 was introduced last month in the Illinois General Assembly to address the acquisition and circulation of library materials by public libraries in the State of Illinois. The proposed legislation declares it to be State policy:to encourage and protect the freedom of pubic libraries and library systems to acquire materials without external limitation and to be protected against attempts to ban, remove, or otherwise restrict access to books or other materials. If passed, the bill would require Illinois public libraries to develop written policies to prohibit the practice of banning books or other materials in order to be…
Continue Reading Proposed Bill Seeks to Limit Efforts to Ban Books in Illinois Libraries

An Appellate Court recently upheld a municipal code enforcement action against homeowners in City of Altamont v. Fritcher. The City issued an abatement notice to homeowners after the homeowners extended their backyard privacy fence and encroached onto a City public utility easement. The homeowners appealed, requesting that the City allow them to keep the extended fence in place as a reasonable accommodation to protect their disabled child. An alternative reasonable accommodation was offered by the City but was rejected by the homeowners. The City then brought an ordinance violation action against the homeowners. The circuit court ruled in favor…
Continue Reading Appellate Court Upholds Code Enforcement Against Homeowners

On June 10, 2022, Governor Pritzker signed the Decennial Committee on Local Government Efficiency Act, 50 ILCS 70/1 et seq.,  into law. This law requires all Illinois local governments that impose a tax (as defined in the Act and excepting municipalities and counties) to convene a committee to study and report on local government efficiency. There are certain actions impacted local governments must take to begin compliance with this law by no later than June 10, 2023. Under this law, impacted local governments must:1     Form a committee to study local efficiencies and meet for the first time no later…
Continue Reading Compliance with the Decennial Committees on Local Government Efficiency Act

Update to Correct Public Access Counselor’s nameJust a quick heads up to Illinois FOIA Officers – the Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) has changed the PAC’s email address so you should update your FOIA forms and other communications to use the updated email address. As you know, Section 9 of FOIA requires that every notice of denial (full or partial denial) must inform the requester of the right to review by the PAC and provide the contact information of the PAC. Below is the updated PAC contact information to update your forms and responses, and to use in any…
Continue Reading CORRECTED Update to PAC Email Address

Just a quick heads up to Illinois FOIA Officers – the Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) has changed the PAC’s email address so you should update your FOIA forms and other communications to use the updated email address. As you know, Section 9 of FOIA requires that every notice of denial (full or partial denial) must inform the requester of the right to review by the PAC and provide the contact information of the PAC. Below is the updated PAC contact information to update your forms and responses, and to use in any future communication with the PAC:Leah Bartlett, Public…
Continue Reading Illinois PAC Updates Email Address

In a recent ruling, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling in favor of police officers in a Fourth Amendment lawsuit against the officers who arrested an individual for having a rifle, bayonet, handgun, and other weapons in a public park on the basis that the officers had qualified immunity. Pierner-Lytge v. Hobbs.Police were contacted by a number of parents of children playing in a park that a woman was in the park wearing a rifle with a bayonet on her back and a handgun strapped to her hip, along with pepper spray, a baton, and two…
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Upholds Ruling of Qualified Immunity in Arrest

In a recent decision, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals determined that a municipality violated its former police chief’s due process rights when it terminated him without providing an opportunity to be heard. Bradley v. Village of University Park,   In 2014, a municipality hired a new police chief with a two-year written employment contract. The contract provided that if the chief was terminated “without cause,” he would be entitled to severance in the amount of four months’ salary. After the 2015 municipal election, the newly elected mayor and village board placed the chief on administrative leave and ultimately…
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Finds Due Process Violation in Police Chief Termination

Earlier this month, an Illinois Appellate Court upheld the dismissal of a challenge to Chicago’s short-term rental (STR) ordinance. Mendez v. City of Chicago.
The City’s STR ordinance regulates short-term housing arrangements, like those offered on Airbnb and VRBO. In 2016, two residents filed a lawsuit to challenge the original STR ordinance and later added several claims to address the City’s amended ordinance. The lawsuit included a variety of claims, including the following:
1. Inspection Requirement
Under the STR ordinance, hosts with more than one rental unit are subject to an inspection every two years. The plaintiff-hosts challenged the…
Continue Reading Appellate Court Rejects Challenge to Chicago’s Short-Term Rental Ordinance

A bill was recently introduced in the Illinois General Assembly that would expand on existing language in the Administrative Review Law (ARL) regarding necessary “parties of record” in a lawsuit challenging an agency’s decision. As a general rule, the ARL requires that “parties of record” be named as defendants in any ARL action to challenge the decision of an administrative agency. There is an exception in the statute that provides that only the zoning board of appeals and applicants are considered “parties of record,” and individuals who appear before the zoning board of appeals and submit testimony or written evidence…
Continue Reading Bill Would Amend ARL Regarding "Parties of Record"