Court Denied Carlinville’s Motion To Stay; Illinois Alluvial Not A Valid Corporation

Carlinville, IL. (ECWd) –

After Ordering Carlinville to cease working with Illinois Alluvial Regional Water Company and declaring IARWC a VOID Corporation because it was formed in violation of the law, Carlinville filed for a Motion to Stay the order pending appeal to the Appellate Court. Plaintiff filed a Response.

Both the Motion to Stay and Response to Motion to Stay can be read by clicking the link.

The Hearing on the Motion to Stay was held on July 21, 2020, with Attorney O’Brien arguing on behalf of Carlinville, and Attorney Smallhorn arguing on behalf of Plaintiff (Brotze).

On Aug 3, 2020, The Court entered the DENIAL into the record (here).

From the written Order of Denial entered by Honorable Judge April G. Troemper:

• The Court further found that since the City of Carlinville had no authority to act in the manner it did, Illinois Alluvial, by default, is a void corporation.
• Keep in mind, Illinois Alluvial was not a corporation already in existence, and the City of Carlinville and the Village of Dorchester did not enter into a written inter-governmental/cooperative agreement or enter into a contract with Jersey County Rural Water Company for purposes of creating Illinois Alluvial. It would be improper and not just for this Court to now declare Illinois Alluvial a valid corporation while this case is on appeal.
• …if the Appellate Court affirms this Court’s decision and finds the City, as a non-home-rule municipality, circumvented and exceeded its legal authority, then the City of Carlinville will be years away from creating a viable water source for its citizens that conforms with the options the Legislature specifically carved out because it chose to stay the course and tread into a territory that has never been done before…
• Either way, the Citizens of Carlinville will suffer, but they do and always have deserved to know what decisions are being made by their elected officials. That is the purpose of open government, yet they have been deprived transparency because the Open Meetings Act does not apply to non for-profit corporations, such as Illinois Alluvial, and various citizens have been threatened with being charged with criminal trespass for appearing at Illinois Alluvial’s meetings.
• What this Court did learn, though, is that the City of Carlinville took out a loan during the pendency of this case to secure an emergency back-up water supply source depending upon the outcome of this case, and Illinois Alluvial is not providing water to Carlinville’s customers because it is still in the planning stages. These points weigh in favor of denying the stay.
• The Court’s Order merely instructs the City to go about it the right way. The manner it chose does not comply with the Constitution or the statutory options available, and Courts around this State must ensure non-home-rule municipalities do not exceed their authority; otherwise, a staggering precedent will be set for generations to come.
• As such, the Court denies the City of Carlinville’s Motion to Stay Pending Appeal
• The Court’s July 7, 2020 Order remains final and appealable and there is no just reason to delay its enforcement or appeal

A copy of the Aug 3, 2020, ORDER is here, or below.