Court Opinion

ID: 9715588
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 06:09:33.096013+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:36.149727
License: Public Domain

Supplemental Opinion on Denial of Petition for Rehearing The defendants filed a Petition for Rehearing asserting that the opinion of this court is improperly founded upon “procedural due process” even though the transfer of the case to this court from the Supreme Court eliminated constitutional issues from the case. As noted in the opinion, the order of transfer stated that the Supreme Court was of the belief that the case did not present substantial constitutional issues, but only a question of statutory construction and application.  Our opinion with reference to the significance of the notice requirement of the relevant statute is primarily a matter of statutory construction and is not susceptible of being parlayed into a substantial constitutional question. Consequently, we have jurisdiction to determine this issue even though it may involve, incidentally, a constitutional question, so long as it is only to this limited extent. Pettigrew v. National Accounts System, Inc., 67 Ill App2d 344, 346, 347, 213 NE2d 778 (1966). The defendants suggest that any defect in the notice of the hearing on the proposed rezoning amendment was waived by participation of the parties in the proceedings. The difficulty with this contention is that the record does not show that all of the interested persons, or frontage owners, actually did so participate. The record only indicates that unidentified property owners participated therein and not that all of the interested parties did so. As stated in our opinion, it is clear to those who did participate that the description contained in the notice was erroneous, and that a change in zoning was in fact sought for land not within that description. Unfortunately, however, it is not known how many other interested parties were unaware of this fact, or what their attitude relative to the rezoning, as adopted, might have been had they been aware of the discrepancy with reference to the land described in the notice and the land actually rezoned. It may be that there were no additional interested parties by virtue of the discrepancy, but that supposition is merely speculation absent proper notice and absent a positive showing of participation by all of those directly affected. Such speculation is too frail a basis to confer jurisdiction and that is the very reason the statutory notice requirement is significant. Since the record does not show that all of the property owners adjoining the rezoned premises participated in the proceedings, we cannot conclude there was no prejudice by reason of the defective notice, or that persons unknown to us and foreign to the record, have waived any defect in the notice. The deficiency in the notice compels us to hold that the act of rezoning was void, and we adhere to our opinion. Petition for rehearing denied.