Plaintiffs found no other person who tripped on the same break that caused Nancy's fall. Plaintiffs alleged that more than 1 million people use this stretch of sidewalk each year. An architect who examined the sidewalk found about a three-inch change in the height of the walking surface from the bottom of the break to the sidewalk. He considered the sidewalk's condition unreasonably dangerous. The trial court held that defendant's failure to repair the entire stretch of sidewalk in light of the prior complaints might constitute negligence, but it did not rise to the level of willful and wanton misconduct.
Plaintiffs appeal from the trial court's decision to grant defendant summary judgment.
The sole issue on appeal is whether evidence that defendant failed to repair all significant cracks in that stretch of the sidewalk, after three people notified defendant they tripped on other cracks in that stretch, could support a finding of willful and wanton misconduct. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. This hybrid character of willful and wantonness is reflected in case law decisions of this State, which have recognized that willful and wanton acts share many similar characteristics with acts of ordinary negligence.