176 Ill. 2d at 189. Our review of the trial court's determination of a motion to dismiss is de novo . 176 Ill. 2d at 189. The principal rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the legislature's intent. To determine the legislature's intent, courts first look to the statute's language.
Courts accord the statute's language a plain and commonly understood meaning.
296 Ill. App. If possible, courts must give effect to every word, clause, and sentence and may not read a statute so as to render any part inoperative, superfluous, or insignificant. 140 Ill. App. Courts must not depart from a statute's plain language by reading into it exceptions, limitations, or conditions the legislature did not express. Statutes should be evaluated as a whole and each provision should be construed in connection with every other section.