For all of our park officials and employee readers who will be in attendance at the IAPD/IPRA conference this week, we hope you can stop by one or more of the sessions at which Ancel Glink attorneys will be presenting:Thursday, 1/29/20261 – 2 pm – Session 112 – Real Estate 101, Scott Puma
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Supreme Court Finds Candidate Has Standing to Challenge Illinois Vote Counting Law
In another U.S. Supreme Court decision this week, the Court reversed the dismissal of a case filed by three candidates for political office that challenged the State of Illinois’ procedure for counting mail-in ballots received after election day. Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections. The district court and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals…
Social Media & Local Government Book Recently Published by ABA
It’s a new year and time for a new book for those who advise and work with local governments on social media legal issues. The ABA recently published my book “Social Media & Local Governments: Navigating the New Public Square,” which is intended to be a practical and legal resource for local government lawyers, officials,…
The New Year Countdown – Township Open Spaces
This year, Municipal Minute will be counting down to the New
Year with updates on legislation that will be effective starting on January 1,
2026.
Public Act
104-0048 amends the Township Code to provide more flexibility in
township-owned open spaces. Township open land refers to the land and water
held by townships for preservation, recreation,…
Court Upholds City’s Response to FOIA that No Records Exist
In 2023, a requester
submitted several FOIA requests to a city police department seeking law
enforcement records regarding himself. The city’s response letter denying the request stated that (1) the records were exempt under 7(1)(a) and (2) “NO RECORDS FOUND.” The requester then sued the city claiming it improperly withheld responsive records to his requests…
Appellate Court Upholds $14,500 Fine for Building Code Violations
An Illinois Appellate Court upheld an administrative hearing officer’s decision to issue a $14,500 fine for ongoing and unresolved building code violations in Thakkar v. City of Aurora. After a city inspector conducted an inspection of a home, the city’s code hearing officer issued a citation relating to 26 code violations. The city scheduled a…
In the Zone: Court Upholds Revocation of Conditional Use Permit for Beer Garden
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s denial of an injunction against a planning and development committee that had revoked a conditional use permit to operate an outdoor beer garden. Minocqua Brewing Company v. Daniel Hess.In 2021, the owner of a microbrewery and pub applied for and was issued an administrative…
Governor Signs Bill Amending OMA and FOIA
We reported on SB 243 a couple of weeks ago which proposed various amendments to the Open Meetings Act and FOIA and that had been approved by both the senate and house of the Illinois General Assembly. The bill was just signed by the Governor last week and became P.A. 104-0438. A brief summary…
Illinois Supreme Court Grants Immunity to School District
In Haase v. Kankakee School District, the Illinois Supreme
Court considered whether a school district and its employees were
entitled to immunity for a student injury under the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
Tort Immunity Act (“Tort Immunity Act”).
A parent sued a school district on behalf of his son who was
injured during…
Appeal of Pension Board Decision Dismissed for Violation of Court Rules in Use of AI
An Illinois Appellate Court recently dismissed the appeal by a former police officer of a pension board’s denial of pension benefits because he violated Illinois Supreme Court Rules when he filed an appellate brief almost wholly created with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI). Pletcher v. Village of Libertyville Police Pension Board.The plaintiff was…