Local Government Law Bulletin
Federal Appellate Court Finds Panhandling Ordinance Unconstitutional
Recently, a federal appellate court determined that an Illinois municipality’s anti-panhandling ordinance was unconstitutional. Specifically, the ordinance in question prohibited panhandling in the municipality’s “downtown historic district.” The area in question only...
FOIA Violation Costs Sheriff’s Office About $85,000
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office was fined $5,000 in addition to approximately $80,000 for the other side’s legal costs and filing fees, after a trial court deemed it to have improperly withheld documents from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The FOIA...
Property Tax Freeze Bill Passes Illinois Senate
Recently, the Illinois Senate approved a bill (SB 0318) which would place a freeze on property taxes. This freeze would apply to all taxing districts outside of Cook County for 2016 and 2017. This freeze would apply to both home rule and non-home rule municipalities....
Ordinances Regulating Signs Based on Topic Are Highly Suspect
The Supreme Court, in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, recently invalidated a town’s ordinance which created 23 sign classifications and restrictions thereto. The First Amendment’s freedom of speech was at specific issue, and whether the classifications, which did not...
New Case Discusses a Zoning Board’s Discretion
Recently, an Illinois appellate court affirmed the decision of a zoning board denying a resident’s request to change his property to a planned business district. The resident completed construction of a barn on his parcel of land that he planned to use as storage for...
New Case Highlights Employment Termination and the ADA
Recently, a federal appellate court decided Shell v. Smith, a case involving the Americans with Disabilities Act and the termination of a City employee. The employee, a Mechanic’s Helper who had vision and hearing impairments, had held his position with the City for...
Employee’s Critical Comments about City-Employer Not Protected Speech
Turner v. City of San Francisco: A temporary employee was terminated after he repeatedly voiced criticisms about the City of San Francisco’s practice of using temporary employees to perform tasks intended to be performed by permanent employees. The employee believed...
IDOL Releases New Interpretation to the Prevailing Wage Act
Recently, the Illinois Department of Labor released a new interpretation to Illinois’s Prevailing Wage Act. Specifically, this new interpretation concerns the question: “Are construction projects financed in whole or in part by Sales Tax Rebates covered by the...
Recent Case Expands Municipalities’ Power to Accept Dedicated Lands
Recently, an Illinois appellate court held in favor of a village when the lender of a failed development attempted to foreclose on land dedicated to the village. Specifically, the various roads and outlots were dedicated in 2007 and 2009, but were not formally...