Chatham, Ill. (ECWd) –
This is simply another example of government attorneys trying to figure out ways around the letter of the law, and in the end the only real losers are the taxpayers who paid for this ridiculous lawsuit.
The Village of Chatham, located in Sangamon County, is located partially within and without the boundaries of the Springfield Airport Authority.
The Airport Authorities Act requires a village wanting representation on the airport board to be located “wholly” within the authority boundaries:
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- “Should a municipality which is wholly within an authority attain, or should such a municipality be established, having a population of 5,000 or more after the entry of said order by the circuit court, the presiding officer of such municipality may petition the circuit court for an order finding and determining the population of such municipality and, if it is found and determined upon the hearing of said petition that the population of such municipality is 5,000 or more, the board of commissioners of such authority as previously established shall be increased by one commissioner ***.” Id.
The village, wanting to appoint a commissioner, read the above paragraph to mean if there are at least 5000 village residents within the authority – and ignored the rest of the paragraph requiring the entire village to be within the authority, and be at least 5000 in population.
The village attorney filed a lawsuit demanding the board increase by one member to permit Chatham to have a seat on the board.
Amazingly, the circuit judge agreed with Chatham, the Airport Authority appealed that decision.
Today, the Appellate Court reversed the circuit court and remanded it back to them to enter judgment in favor of the Authority as a matter of law.
What a complete waste of public funds on Chatham’s part, they should have known better, and we hope the airport authority goes after their attorney fees.
See the Order below:
Village of Chatham v. Springfield Airport Authority, 2025 IL App (4th) 241112
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