Court Opinion

ID: 9719803
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 08:04:35.342937+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:10.106484
License: Public Domain

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE TRAPP, dissenting: The record before this court does not establish that the Fair Employment Practices Commission has jurisdiction in this case. Throughout the record of the administrative proceedings, the position is described as that of “Urban Renewal Planner-Administrator” with college training in “business administration”. Section 2 of the Fair Employment Practices Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1963, ch. 48, par. 852) provides that “principal administrative officers” of a political or governmental entity are not “employees” as defined within the statute. So far as can be ascertained from this record the stated duties of the position required the preparation of “applications” and “contracts,” apparently related to knowledge of urban renewal programs and a knowledge of finance and management. The proceedings before the administrative Commission does not show any consideration or determination of whether the complainant was an “employee” within the jurisdiction of that body. It is conceded that at the time in question the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Plan Commission had some eight employees and did not come within the terms of the statute. The statute, prior to July 1,1968, defined “employer” as including, “or other governmental unit or agency thereof if within the foregoing requirements of the definition with respect to number of employees.” Factors which persuade that the Regional Plan Commission was a distinct entity include the fact that the record shows that in the budget for 1970, some ten municipalities participated. These included the Airport Authority, a park district, a school district, as well as a number of smaller municipalities who participated in the Regional Plan Commission and contributed to its budget. The officers of the Regional Plan Commission were elected from its membership and it is this group which procured employees and staff. The fact alone that the county treasurer was the conduit for financial transactions of the Regional Plan Commission is not sufficient to negative a conclusion that the Regional Plan Commission was an autonomous entity. The record shows that the county resolution did not provide any authority for the Sangamon County Regional Plan Commission to participate in the joint meetings of the representatives of the several municipalities. We are advised that the county does not have any statutory authority to engage in any urban renewal planning or programs and, as the opinion notes the budget of the Springfleld-Sangamon County Regional Plan Commission provided that no part of the salary of an “urban renewal administrator” was to be paid from the funds allocated by Sangamon County. For such reason it is not apparent from what source of authority this court can direct a judgment against Sangamon County for back pay and other liabilities for purported services in matters as to which the county had no authority to act. It seems clear that as it functioned, the Springfleld-Sangamon County Regional Plan Commission had no legitimate origin under any statute while the representatives of the several municipalities actually met together, but appears to have served as a convenient forum for interchange of views as to various aspects of planning. As the opinion notes upon matters relating to the City of Springfield, only representatives of the Springfield Plan Commission could vote and employees were to be appointed upon the consent of the mayor. So far as the record shows, this was not done. In the proceedings before the Fair Employment Practices Commission, there was no consideration or examination of the nature of the several entities involved in the proceedings for purposes of determining the “employer” within the context of the Fair Employment Practices Act. The record appears insufficient to show that the complaint at issue was within the jurisdiction of the administrative agency entering the order reviewed.