City of Chicago v. Cotton

State: Illinois

Court: 1st District Appellate

Docket No: 1-03-2892 Rel

Case Date: 02/28/2005

FIRST DIVISION
February 28 , 2005

No. 1-03-2892

CITY OF CHICAGO,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

VIOLA COTTON, et al.

Defendant-Appellee.

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Appeal from the
Circuit Court of
Cook County.

No. 02 M1 400602

Honorable
Sebastian T. Patti,
Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, City of Chicago (hereinafter City), appeals from the denial of its motion to reconsider the statutory damages imposed on defendant, Viola Cotton. The City contends that the circuit court acted without authority and entered a void judgment when, after finding liability against Cotton under an ordinance that set a range for monetary fines in the event of a violation, it imposed a fine below that range. We reverse and remand.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Cotton owned two rental properties on the south side of Chicago at 1739 East 78th Street and at 7801 South Ridgeland Avenue, and was responsible for paying their gas bills. By the beginning of 2002, however, Cotton had fallen in arrears on such payments, creating an outstanding bill between $10,000 to $12,000. Hence, gas service was discontinued to those properties, depriving the tenants therein of heat and hot water. This condition persisted in the properties for 20 days, between January 8 and February 7, 2002.

In response to the condition of the properties, the City filed a complaint against Cotton, alleging violation of the sections of the Building Code (Code) requiring the maintenance of adequate heating facilities in residential buildings (Chicago Municipal Code