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Blog comments do not reflect the views or opinions of the Author or Ancel Glink. Some of the content may be considered attorney advertising material under the applicable rules of certain states. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Please read our full disclaimer

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Tier 1 Mitigation Measures Announced for Lake and McHenry Counties Effective Saturday

  Thursday, October 29, 2020    

If it seems like we are reporting every day on new COVID-19 mitigation measures, that's because we are.  New mitigation measures are being announced by the State of Illinois nearly every day and yesterday was no exception. The Illinois Governor announced that tier 1 mitigation measures will take effect on Saturday, October 31st, in Lake and McHenry Counties (Region 9). As we have reported on nearly every day this week, tier 1 mitigation measures include bans on indoor dining and bar service and restrictions on gatherings to 25 people. With this announcement, 8 of the 11 Illinois regions are now subject to stricter mitigation measures.

  

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New Mitigation Measures Announced for Chicago

  Thursday, October 29, 2020    

Just a few days after we wrote about new mitigation measures for Suburban Cook County and the St. Louis area, the State announced new mitigation measures for the City of Chicago (Region 11), effective Friday. The tier 1 restrictions are the same as what we reported on with these other regions - no indoor dining or bar service and restrictions on gatherings, meetings, and events to 25 people. That leaves only 4 regions in the State of Illinois (out of 11) that remain in Phase 4 with no mitigation measures in place.

  

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Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Illinois Attorney General to Host FOIA Webinar

  Wednesday, October 28, 2020    

The Illinois Attorney General’s Office will host a webinar on November 6, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to help public bodies and FOIA officers with responding to requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The webinar will cover basic FOIA requirements, frequently used exemptions, redacting information, and responses to request public records. The webinar will also discuss the Public Access Counselor (PAC) review process and common issues reported by the PAC.

To RSVP, email your name, title, public body, and email address to specialevents@atg.state.il.us by October 30, 2020. Space is limited, so the Attorney General’s Office encourages interested participants to register as soon as possible.

Participants may email FOIA questions in advance to specialevents@atg.state.il.us and contact the Attorney General with any other questions or requests for reasonable accommodations at specialevents@atg.state.il.us or calling 1-866-376-7215 (TTY: 1-800-964-3013).

Post Authored by Mike Halpin & Dan Bolin, Ancel Glink


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Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Homeowner Prevails in Zoning Case Against Neighbor

  Tuesday, October 27, 2020    

An Illinois Appellate Court recently upheld an injunction against a residential property owner operating a boarding house and a vehicle parking and storage facility in an Adjoining Landowner Act lawsuit (65 ILCS 5/11-13-15) brought by a neighboring resident. Frederick v. Gaca.

Frederick filed a lawsuit against his neighbors alleging a variety of claims regarding the use of residential property next door to his home. In his lawsuit, Frederick alleged the home's six bedrooms were rented out to various individuals and operated as a boarding house. He also claimed there were approximately 20 vehicles parked or stored on the property at any one time, including cars, pickup trucks, delivery trucks, and a heavy-duty work truck. According to the lawsuit, some of the parked vehicles were tenant vehicles and others were parked or stored under separate arrangement or agreement, including the payment of parking and storage fees. In support of his claims, Frederick submitted affidavits from former tenants and users of the parking and storage facility that demonstrated the illegal uses. Frederick claimed that these uses constituted a public nuisance and violated various provisions of the City of Naperville zoning ordinance. 

The trial court ultimately ruled in favor of Frederick, entering a permanent injunction stopping the defendants from operating a boarding house or a parking or storage facility on the residential property. 

The defendants appealed, and the Appellate Court upheld the injunction, finding that the evidence clearly established that the property was being used in violation of numerous provisions of the Naperville zoning ordinance. The Appellate Court also rejected the defendants argument that the parking and storage facility was a lawful "home occupation." The Appellate Court concluded that Frederick met his burden under the Adjoining Landowner Act to establish the unlawful use of the neighboring property, and the trial court's injunction was upheld.




  

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Monday, October 26, 2020

Mitigation Measures Imposed on Suburban Cook and Metro East Regions

  Monday, October 26, 2020    

We reported last week on a variety of new mitigation measures imposed by the State of Illinois on certain regions in the state. Today, the State announced new mitigation measures for Regions 4 (Metro East) and 10 (Suburban Cook County. These measures include bans on indoor dining and indoor bar service, and restrictions on meetings, events, and gatherings to 25 people. These new restrictions go into effect on Wednesday, October 28th.  You can read the tier 1 restrictions here. 

In addition, the State imposed a second tier of restrictions on Region 1 (Northcentral and Northwest Illinois, including Rockford) last week. The previous ban on indoor dining and bar service remains in place, but outdoor table seating is now restricted to 6 people and meetings, events, and gatherings are restricted to 10 people. There are also new restrictions on organized recreational activities. These tier 2 restrictions went into effect on October 25th. You can read the new tier 2 restrictions here.

DCEO keeps track of the current mitigation measures imposed on each region here. 

  

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Deadline of October 31, 2020 for Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Reporting

  Monday, October 26, 2020    

During the last legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Workplace Transparency Act (WTA), which overhauled sexual harassment reporting and training requirements across the State of Illinois for employers, including units of government. Initially, the law required employers to report the number of adverse judgments issued in 2019 on July 1, 2020. Recently, the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) extended its deadline requiring employers to report all cases of “adverse judgments” regarding instances of alleged discrimination or sexual harassment in the workplace to October 31, 2020. This initial rule change does not affect reporting requirements moving forward.

The WTA defines an adverse judgment or “administrative ruling” as “any final and non-appealable judgment that finds sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination” in the employee’s favor and against the employer. These judgments can include decisions by the Illinois Human Rights Commission, Cook County Commission on Human Rights, Chicago Commission on Human Rights, or a decision by an Illinois Circuit Court. Rulings also include any final judgments by a federal court regarding employment discrimination that are no longer appealable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA), or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Employers are strictly prohibited from reporting the name of a victim of an alleged act of sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination in all required disclosures. Employers are not required to report settlements to the IDHR. Employers with no adverse judgments during the 2019 calendar year are not required to report that information to IDPH—only employers with adverse judgments must report them.

Employers can download and complete the adverse judgment form (2019 Form IDPH 2-108) here and email it to idhr.webmail@illinois.gov on or before October 31, 2020. Civil penalties for not reporting adverse judgments range from $500 to $5,000 depending on the number of workers employed by the employer and the number of offenses for failing to report.

Readers can learn more about the deadline change here and read more about the WTA on the Illinois General Assembly’s website here.

Post Authored by Mike Halpin & Julie Tappendorf, Ancel Glink

  

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Thursday, October 22, 2020

Public Body Did Not Waive Ability to Redact Records in FOIA Case

  Thursday, October 22, 2020    

In a recent court ruling, the First District Appellate Court concluded that the Schaumburg Police Department did not waive its right to redact accident reports in response to a FOIA request even though the Department had previously provided unredacted copies of the same reports to a third-party vendor in order to comply with the Department's mandatory reporting obligations under the Vehicle Code. Mancini Law Group, P.C. v. Schaumburg Police Dep't,

Mancini Law Group, P.C. had sent a FOIA request to the Department seeking certain 2017 motor vehicle traffic accident reports. After the Village responded to the request by producing redacted accident reports, Mancini sued the Department, claiming the Department improperly redacted non-exempt information under FOIA, and alternatively, even if the Department’s redactions were proper, the Department waived its ability to assert FOIA exemptions because the Department previously provided unredacted accident reports to LexisNexis. The circuit court held that the Department’s redactions were proper and that the Department did not waive its right to redact the reports in response to Mancini’s FOIA request because the Department only provided unredacted accident reports under a contract with LexisNexis, an approved third-party vendor for the State of Illinois, as part of the Department’s mandatory reporting requirements under section 408 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. That statute requires the Department to file motor vehicle accident reports with the Secretary of State and the Department of Transportation. Mancini then appealed to the First District Appellate Court, which affirmed the circuit court’s judgement.

On appeal, Mancini argued that the Department’s voluntary disclosure of unredacted accident reports in one situation precluded the Department from withholding the same reports in response to Mancini’s FOIA request. Mancini relied on an Illinois Supreme Court's ruling that endorsed federal cases holding that “selective disclosure” by public bodies is offensive to the purposes of FOIA and intolerable as a matter of policy because “preferential treatment of persons or interest groups fosters precisely the distrust of government the FOIA was intended to obviate.” However, since LexisNexis was acting as the Department’s agent to help the Department fulfill its statutory reporting requirements, the appellate court concluded that the Department’s efforts to comply with a statutory reporting requirement were not comparable to the  “selective disclosure,” or “preferred treatment” condemned by the Illinois Supreme Court.

The appellate court also rejected Mancini claim that LexisNexis sells the Department’s unredacted reports for a fee to the public without restrictions, observing that only people providing specific information can purchase unredacted accident reports—either by being involved in the accident, representing someone involved in the accident, or being an insurance company identified as insuring someone involved in the accident.

Post Authored by Eugene Bolotnikov, Ancel Glink

  

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Wednesday, October 21, 2020

State Imposes New Restrictions on Illinois Regions

  Wednesday, October 21, 2020    

Regions 7 and 8 (Will, Kankakee, Kane, and DuPage Counties)

This afternoon, the Governor announced new mitigation efforts for Regions 7 and 8, which take effect on Friday, October 23, 2020. Region 7 includes Will and Kankakee Counties and Region 8 includes Kane and DuPage Counties. According to the Governor's press release, both regions have shown a positivity rate higher than 8%. 

The mitigation measures are the same for both Regions, and include the following:

Bars:  No indoor service at bars, and outside service must end at 11:00 p.m. Restrictions also include social distancing, table distancing, no dancing or standing indoors, and no seating of multiple parties at one table.

Restaurants:  No indoor dining at restaurants, and outdoor dining must end at 11:00 p.m. Other restrictions include table distancing, no standing or congregating indoors while waiting for a table, reservations required, and no seating of multiple parties at one table.

Meetings, Social Events, and Gatherings: Limited to lesser of 25 guests or 25% of the room capacity, no party buses, and casinos and gaming must end at 11:00 p.m. and limited to 25% capacity. 

Region 5 (Southern Illinois)

Earlier this week, new mitigation measures were announced for Region 5 (Southern Illinois) that place the same restrictions discussed above for Regions 7 and 8, and take effect on Thursday, October 22, 2020. 

Region 1 (Northwestern Illinois, including Rockford area)

At the beginning of October, similar mitigation measures were imposed on Region 1, which remain in effect. 

Regions 4 and 7 (Metro East and South Suburban)

In August, we reported on mitigation measures imposed on Regions 4 and 7. Those mitigation measures were lifted in September but yesterday's announcement means that this is the second time Region 7 is being restricted. 

  

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Monday, October 19, 2020

Court Issues Ruling in Lawsuit Challenging Election Day Closures

  Monday, October 19, 2020    

Last week, an Illinois circuit court issued a ruling in the case brought by the Illinois Municipal League (IML) against the State of Illinois to challenge the recent statute making November 3, 2020 (Election Day) a state holiday and requiring local government offices to close. The IML had argued that it was an unfunded mandate to municipalities, and the circuit court agreed in its ruling last week.

We have been asked whether the ruling extends beyond the two municipalities that were named as plaintiffs in the case (Southern View and Bolingbrook) to apply to other local governments. The ruling states that the statutory amendment that requires government offices to close on Election Day (i.e., Section 2B-10) "does not apply to local governments such as municipalities - including those municipalities that are members of IML and specifically, the Villages of Southern View and Bolingbrook." The IML has advised that the ruling provides each of its member municipalities the independent discretion to determine if their offices should or should not be closed on Election Day. The ruling itself seems broader in application, as it refers to "local governments" and not just municipalities. An appellate court ruling (or better yet, a statutory fix) would certainly help to provide some clarity, but given the short time period until Election Day, that may be unlikely. Local governments may want to reach out to their attorneys if they have questions about the ruling and how it applies to them.

You can read the decision on the IML's website here.  You can also read the IML's summary of the lawsuit and ruling here.

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Friday, October 9, 2020

Qurum Forum Podcast 45: Housing and Homelessness

  Friday, October 09, 2020    

Planners and land use professionals will be interested in tuning into the most recent episode of Quorum Forum, Episode 45: Housing and Homelessness.  In this episode, partners David Silverman and Dan Bolin discuss the latest on accessory dwelling units, recent constitutional challenges to local ordinances affecting homeless populations, and answer questions about the latest legal issues affecting governments. 

You can watch the livestream recording here or listen and subscribe to the Quorum Forum Podcast here.  


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Wednesday, October 7, 2020

IDPH COVID Guidance for Election Polling Places

  Wednesday, October 07, 2020    

Awhile back, the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) issued COVID-19 guidance for election polling places. You can read the guidance on the IDPH's website here. A summary of some of the key provisions are below:

1. Each local election authority (usually the county or election commission) must adopt a written COVID-19 prevention plan for each polling place in its jurisdiction that includes at a minimum the following:

  • Contact person for implementation of plan
  • Safety instructions and training on cleaning and disinfection
  • Physical distancing protocols
  • Worker monitoring plan
  • Policies for ensuring compliance with social distancing, mask wearing, and disinfection of all affected surfaces
2. Placement of signage at entrances regarding face coverings

3. Distancing of election officials and pooling booths at least 6 feet apart

4. Visual cues for social distancing of voters

5. Designated break areas that allows physical distancing

6. Consider outdoor enclosures for waiting voters or encourage voters to wait in cars

7. Consider curbside voting, if practical

8. Ensure ventilation systems are operating properly

9. Replace shared objects (pens, cards, ballot covers) with single-use objects, where possible

10. Provide face coverings for voters who arrive without them

11. Voters cannot be screened for COVID-19 at the polling place nor prohibited from voting even if they refuse to wear a face covering

12. Consider plexiglass barriers

13. Routine cleaning and disinfecting of electronics and frequently touched objects and surfaces

14. Provide hand sanitizer to voters

15. Poll workers must wear a face covering at all times and practice good hygiene (hand washing; hand sanitizer)


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Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Upcoming APA Webinar on Drones

  Tuesday, October 06, 2020    

APA Planning and Law Division in partnership with APA Learn is presenting a webinar on October 22nd on Drones. Information about the webinar and registration is below:

Sky's the Limit: Drone Regulatory Implications

Thursday, October 22, 2020 

12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. CT

CM and CLE credit

Aerial drones (sometimes described as “UAS” or “UAV”), have a host of planning applications across urban, regional, rural, and agricultural geographies. From a general aerial surveying perspective, these applications frequently include site analysis and visualization, GIS mapping and modeling, and photosimulations. 

Sub-disciplines within the planning field such as transportation, environmental, and disaster planning already utilize small drones’ aerial sensors for real-time data collection, infrastructure inspection, project management, and project development. These technologies can facilitate new ways of practicing community engagement. Given the broad applications of this technology across multiple planning disciplines, there is a general need for planners to enhance their awareness of relevant federal regulations, administrative guidance published by the Federal Aviation Administration, and court cases that collectively define the legal operation of small drones. Essentially, if you plan to use this technology in your planning practice, you must know the rules. 

While acknowledging there are still significant gaps in the legal landscape for small drone operation, this program will discuss useful precedents to help you develop a use-case that is most likely to protect your planning practice and elected officials.. Even though state and federal legislatures continue to debate the regulatory environment to operate small drones, there is some present-day certainty regarding what state and local government can — and cannot — regulate. 

Our expert panelists will explain the ways in which your city or state planning department could use small drones to enhance your planning efforts, prepare you to navigate the risks in the grey area, and offer insight on how to avoid the pitfalls.  


Information about speakers, cost, and registration can be found here.


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Monday, October 5, 2020

IDPH Releases Halloween Guidance

  Monday, October 05, 2020    

We reported previously about the CDC's guidance on fall holidays, including Halloween. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has now released its own guidelines for fall activities, which supplement the recently-updated DCEO guidance on other seasonal staples, such as pumpkin patches, hayrides, and haunted houses. 

Trick-or-Treating

Trick-or-treating is allowed, provided that groups are limited to household members, social distancing is maintained from other trick-or-treaters and people passing out candy, and that face coverings are worn in addition to any costume masks. The IDPH advises sticking to outdoor areas rather than multi-family buildings, frequent use of hand-sanitizer, and handwashing prior to consuming any candy. The IDPH also suggests some safer alternatives to traditional trick-or-treating. Instead of passing out candy at the door, the IDPH recommends putting out individually wrapped treats on a table more than six feet from the front door so that trick-or-treaters may help themselves. This method is also recommended in other settings, such larger-scale organized events involving tables set up with carefully-spaced candy in parking lots to avoid door-to-door travel.

Haunted Houses

Haunted houses are not allowed. The IDPH encourages open-air, one-way haunted forests or haunted walks where social distancing of 6 feet or greater and appropriate masking is enforced as an alternatives. Really scary haunted walks require increased social distancing due to the potential for screaming.

Pumpkin Patches/Apple Orchards

Attendance at outdoor pumpkin patches and apple orchards is limited to 25% capacity, with advance-purchase tickets advised. Indoor areas or rides of the sort that are sometimes featured at such locations must remain closed. Face coverings and social distancing are mandatory.

Hayrides

Hayrides are permitted up to 50% capacity with social distancing and face coverings required. The DCEO and IDPH both advise limiting hayride participants to members of the same household.

Adult Halloween Parties

The IDPH warns against large-scale parties and reiterates the 50-person limit for gatherings. While peole can visit bars (subject to regional or local restrictions), the IDPH provides a list of reasons why partaking in indoor costume parties is a bad idea and suggests avoiding such events, or minimizing the amount of time spent, together with the usual reminders to adhere to social distancing and face covering requirements.


  

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Friday, October 2, 2020

Quorum Forum Podcast 44: APA-IL Planning Law Symposium

  Friday, October 02, 2020    

Ancel Glink's Quorum Forum Podcast just released its latest episode, Episode 44: APA-IL Planning Law Symposium.

The Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association just held its virtual 2020 State Conference featuring the APA-IL Planning Law Symposium presented by Ancel Glink's Quorum Forum podcast. Trevor Dick from the City of Aurora joined Ancel Glink partners ShawnTe Raines, David Silverman, and Dan Bolin to discuss important legal issues affecting planners, including pandemic-time public meetings, economic recovery tools, defending religious land use cases, and more. 

You can listen to the APA-IL Planning Law Symposium on the latest episode of Ancel Glink's Quorum Forum podcast here.

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