August 2015 ~ Municipal Minute

Updates on cases, laws, and other topics of interest to local governments

Friday, August 28, 2015

Municipal Law Deskbook Just Published

Friday, August 28, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

For you municipal law nerds out there (you know who you are), you might be interested in a new municipal law reference book that was just published by the ABA Section of State and Local Government. The book, called the "Municipal Law Deskbook," provides a comprehensive...

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Public Body's Bank Account Numbers Not Exempt from FOIA (!)

Thursday, August 27, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

As we've reported before on this blog, some of the more "interesting" opinions from the Public Access Counselor have come in the form of advisory, or non-binding opinions. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to view these opinions, since the PAC only publishes binding opinions on its website, and binding opinions are few and far between. A reader sent a copy of an advisory opinion that is worth reporting...

Freedom of Information

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

School District Not Liable for Bullying

Wednesday, August 26, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

Is a school liable for the bullying activities of students where there is no evidence that school employees instigated, created, or increased the bullying experienced by a student? The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said no in a recent case D.S. v. East Porter County Sch. Corp, (7th Cir. August 24, 2015). D.S. was a middle school student who claimed that she was the victim of bullying...

Constitutional Issues

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

New Law Changes the Game for Ordinance Enforcement

Tuesday, August 25, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

Governor Rauner recently signed legislation that could change the way Illinois cities and villages enforce local ordinances. In the past, non-home rule municipalities had to file an action in circuit court to enforce an administrative adjudication order. As a result, many non-home rule cities and villages have not locally adjudicated their ordinances because they still needed to go to circuit court...

Land Use and Environmental

Monday, August 24, 2015

City Council Meeting Videos not Entitled to Copyright Protection

Monday, August 24, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

Many cities and villages videotape their council/board meetings and then post them on their website or YouTube or other video sharing site so that residents and others can watch the exciting happenings from the comfort of their own computer or device. The City of Inglewood, CA is a community that regularly video records its city council meetings. Those video recordings were recently the subject...

Constitutional Issues / Social Media

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Local Weapons Ban Survives Gun Rights Organization’s Preemption Challenge

Wednesday, August 19, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

Preemption is a common feature in state firearms laws, establishing that state law controls over local regulations, and leaving local governments to wonder what authority remains to adopt local policies. Recently, a Wisconsin court upheld a rule adopted by the City of Madison’s Transit and Parking Commission, referred to as the “bus rule,” banning weapons from city buses. Wisconsin Carry, Inc. v....

Constitutional Issues

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

PAC Issues 5th Opinion Finding OMA Violation

Tuesday, August 18, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

The PAC recently issued its 5th binding opinion for 2015 finding a public body in violation of the Open Meetings Act in PAC Op. 15-005. I was starting to wonder if the PAC was only going to issue advisory opinions this year. As I've discussed in the past, the dearth of binding opinions is a problem for public bodies because the PAC only posts its binding opinions on its website, so it's difficult...

Monday, August 17, 2015

Blight Reduction Program Grants Available

Monday, August 17, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is accepting applications from local governments for grants under its Blight Reduction Program (BRP), which was created last year to decrease preventable foreclosures and stabilize neighborhoods. Applications are available now, and due on September 25, 2015. Local governments interested in applying for a grant may want to participate in...

Land Use and Environmental

Friday, August 14, 2015

Illinois Body Camera Bill Becomes Law

Friday, August 14, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

We previously posted about SB 1304, the bill that would establish the "Law Enforcement Officer-Work Body Camera Act." That bill passed both Illinois houses, and went to the Illinois Governor for signature. Earlier this week, Governor Rauner signed that bill into law becoming P.A. 99-0352. Portions of the bill become effective immediately, and others will become effective January 1, 2016. We...

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Court Considers Library Annexation Dispute

Thursday, August 13, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

Two libraries got into a dispute regarding the annexation of land located between the two district boundaries. Both library districts took action to annex portions of the land, and then filed suit against the other to have the court determine which district's annexation was valid. The circuit court ruled that the Geneva library board's annexation of a 500' wide, 4000' long strip of property...

Land Use and Environmental

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Appeals Court Upholds City's Parkway Mowing Ordinance

Wednesday, August 12, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

Most municipalities have "weed" ordinances on the books that require homeowners to maintain their lawns in a certain condition, including requiring mowing. Many of these ordinances apply not only to the private lawn, but also to the parkway area between the sidewalk and street, even if that parkway area is publicly controlled by the municipality (through an easement or other instrument). This...

Constitutional Issues / Land Use and Environmental

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

7th Circuit Applies Reed v. Gilbert to Panhandling Ordinance

Tuesday, August 11, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

We previously reported on a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals case upholding Springfield's anti-panhandling ordinance here. You may recall that the City of Springfield, Illinois had an ordinance that prohibits panhandling in its downtown historic district. The ordinance defines panhandling as an oral request for an immediate donation of money. Individuals who were cited under this ordinance...

Constitutional Issues

Monday, August 10, 2015

Social Media Records Retention Guidance for Local Governments

Monday, August 10, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

From Strategically Social: Social Media Records Retention Guidance for Local Governments Is a social media post a public record that must be retained under state of Illinois record retention laws (i.e., Local Records Act or State Records Act)? The Illinois Secretary of State has answered that question with a "it depends" in a 2015 publication called "Government Records Law and Social...

Friday, August 7, 2015

IML Annual Conference in September

Friday, August 07, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

The Illinois Municipal League Conference is just around the corner, and you don't want to miss all of the great sessions that Ancel Glink attorneys will be participating in at this year's conference. You can learn more about the conference, and register on the IML's conference website page here. Below is a summary of Ancel Glink's sessions: Thursday, September 17, 2015 Attorneys Session, Moderator:...

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Youth Concussion Safety Act Affects Park and School Districts

Thursday, August 06, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

The Illinois General Assembly recently enacted Public Act 99-0245, to create the Youth Sports Concussion Safety Act, and to amend the Park District Code and the School Code. The amendment to the Park District Code states as follows: Section 8-24(b)Each park district is subject to and shall comply with the requirements of the Youth Sports Concussion Safety Act if the park district is directly responsible...

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Public Body Did Not Violate OMA in Enforcing Public Comment Rules

Wednesday, August 05, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

Still very little activity out of the Attorney General's Public Access Counselor (PAC) office, at least in the way of binding opinions. Today's opinion is an advisory opinion where the PAC concluded that a public body did not violate the Open Meetings Act when a school district board did not allow a member of the public to comment on a specific topic at a meeting and removed the individual from the...

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Chicago Considers Drone Ordinance

Tuesday, August 04, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

Concerns about the use of drones, particularly in connection with personal privacy, have been the subject of many recent news stories. Local governments have begun discussing how they might regulate drones through their land use and registration/licensing authority. Recently, the Chicago City Council introduced an ordinance that would license and regulate drones. The proposed ordinance includes,...

Land Use and Environmental

Monday, August 3, 2015

State Budget Battle Affects Local Revenues

Monday, August 03, 2015 Julie Tappendorf

As the state budget battle continues, Illinois local governments are understandably concerned about how this battle will affect their own revenues. One of the first threats to local government revenues was a state plan to cut in half the local government share of the state income tax. That hasn't happened yet, but two new threats emerged recently when the state threatened to withhold motor fuel tax...

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