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County of Lake v. CAMPUS INVESTMENTS, INC.
Illinois Supreme Court · 2012-05-30 · cited 1×
This case concerns a petition for leave to appeal from an appellate decision in a dispute between the County of Lake and Campus Investments, Inc. The Illinois Supreme Court denied the petition but exercised its supervisory authority to direct the Appellate Court, Second District, to vacate its published judgment and its order granting a motion to publish. The appellate court was further ordered to deny the motion to publish and reinstate its earlier unpublished Rule 23 order from August 10, 2011. No explanation for the supervisory directions was provided in the order. One justice took no part in the decision.
procedure
PEOPLE EX REL. GLASGOW v. Kinney
Illinois Supreme Court · 2012-05-24 · cited 3×
The case concerned a petition for mandamus filed by the Will County State's Attorney against a circuit judge who had granted a defendant's motion to strike a prior uncounseled Bureau County misdemeanor DUI conviction and imposed a probationary sentence for the current aggravated DUI charge. The Illinois Supreme Court granted mandamus, directing the judge to vacate the order striking the conviction, vacate the sentence, deny the motion, and resentence the defendant under the enhancement provisions of the Vehicle Code that make a fourth DUI a nonprobationable Class 2 felony. The court reasoned that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nichols v. United States, which overruled Baldasar v. Illinois, permits use of a valid uncounseled misdemeanor conviction to enhance punishment for a later offense, including by imposing mandatory imprisonment, and that the appellate precedent in Finley relied entirely on the overruled Baldasar holding.
criminal lawprocedure
Modular Solutions v. Hazel Crest School
Illinois Supreme Court · 2012-03-26 · cited 4×
This case concerned whether a school finance authority created under the Downstate School Finance Authority for Elementary Districts Law could cancel a school district's leases for portable classrooms without paying the early termination fees specified in those contracts. Innovative Modular Solutions sued Hazel Crest School District 152.5 and the Authority after the Authority terminated the leases early but refused to authorize payment of the contractual penalties. The trial court ruled that the Authority had to comply with the lease terms for cancellation and that the District was excused from paying the fees due to legal impossibility. The appellate court affirmed the ruling for the District and found the declaratory judgment moot. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Act allows the Authority to cancel contracts only if done consistently with their existing terms, so the Authority must pay the fees; the doctrine of legal impossibility did not apply because the statute requires adherence to the contract provisions.
business & regulatory
Gaffney v. ORLAND FIRE PROTECTION DIST.
Illinois Supreme Court · 2012-02-17 · cited 27×
The case consolidated appeals from two firefighters, Gaffney and Lemmenes, who suffered career-ending injuries during live-fire training exercises and sought continued health insurance coverage under section 10 of the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act. The Act mandates that employers pay premiums for a firefighter and dependents if the firefighter incurs a catastrophic injury while responding to what is reasonably believed to be an emergency. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the appellate court rulings in both matters, interpreting the statutory term 'emergency' according to its plain meaning to require an actual circumstance posing imminent danger that demands an urgent response, rather than a planned training drill. The court concluded that neither injury qualified for the benefits because the firefighters knew they were participating in controlled exercises, not responding to real emergencies.
labor & employmenthealthcare
People v. Patrick
Illinois Supreme Court · 2011-12-30 · cited 33×
In this criminal case, defendant Tyron L. Patrick was convicted of reckless homicide and related charges after a jury trial involving a fatal car collision. Following the verdict, he filed pro se posttrial motions alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel, but the trial court refused to consider them on the ground that they were filed more than 30 days after the verdict in violation of section 116-1(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Illinois Supreme Court held that the trial court must still conduct a preliminary inquiry under the Krankel procedure into the factual basis of any pro se ineffective-assistance claims raised before a notice of appeal is filed. The court reasoned that the common-law Krankel process serves the narrow purpose of addressing such claims in the trial court and is not limited by the statutory deadline that applies to other posttrial motions. Accordingly, the court affirmed the appellate court's remand for that preliminary examination.
criminal lawprocedure
In Re Dar. C.
Illinois Supreme Court · 2011-10-27 · cited 6×
This case involved the termination of a father's parental rights to his two minor children in Illinois juvenile court proceedings after the State served notice by publication. The father later challenged the termination via a section 2-1401 petition, arguing that the State failed to perform the diligent inquiry required under the Juvenile Court Act to ascertain his address before relying on publication service, thus depriving the trial court of personal jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Illinois held that the State's searches (including one using a misspelled name) and failure to follow up on addresses known from related child support proceedings were inadequate. The court therefore reversed the appellate court's affirmance, vacated the termination order, and remanded for further proceedings.
family lawprocedure