City of Chicago v. St. John's United Church of Christ

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State: Illinois

Court: 2nd District Appellate

Docket No: 2-10-0131 NRel

Case Date: 09/16/2010

Preview:No. 2--10--0131 ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS SECOND DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE CITY OF CHICAGO, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Du Page County. Plaintiff and Defendant-Appellee, ) ) v. ) Nos. 07--ED--59 ) 09--CH--4483 ST. JOHN'S UNITED CHURCH OF ) CHRIST, ) ) Defendant-Appellant ) ) (Clifford A. Sell, Sr., et al., Intervenors) Honorable Appellants; Florence Anderson et al., ) Hollis L. Webster, Plaintiffs-Appellants). ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE McLAREN delivered the opinion of the court: These cases arise out of the City of Chicago's condemnation of St. Johannes Cemetery, exercised in the course of expanding O'Hare Airport. In the eminent-domain action, case No. 07-ED--59, defendant, St. John's United Church of Christ, which owned the cemetery, and several hundred relatives of those buried at St. Johannes, sought, via a traverse and motion to dismiss, to prevent the condemnation and destruction of the cemetery. In case No. 09--CH--4483, Florence Anderson and 67 other individuals with religious and property rights in the graves of ancestors buried in the cemetery sought injunctive relief to prevent the condemnation. The cases were consolidated in November 2009. On February 8, 2010, the trial court, having denied or dismissed all challenges

No. 2--10--0131 to the condemnation, granted Chicago's motion for immediate vesting of title under section 20--5--5 of the Eminent Domain Act (Act) (735 ILCS 30/20--5--5 (West 2008)). This appeal followed. FACTS In July 2002, the City of Chicago (the City) disclosed plans to make changes at O'Hare International Airport, including construction of runways, additions to or relocation of runways, construction of new terminals, and construction of ground transportation facilities, ramps, parking, staging areas, mass transit, clear zones, and other airport-related facilities. The Chicago city council adopted an ordinance determining that the acquisition of certain properties was necessary and desirable for the expansion project and authorizing the exercise of the power of eminent domain to acquire those properties. The City planned to acquire approximately 433 acres of land located in Elk Grove Village and the Village of Bensenville. St. Johannes Cemetery was included in the list of properties to be acquired. In 2003, the Illinois legislature passed the O'Hare Modernization Act (Modernization Act) (620 ILCS 65/1 et seq. (West 2004)). Section 15 of the Modernization Act provided, among other things: "In addition to any other powers that the City may have, and notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the City may acquire *** any right, title, or interest in any private property, property held in the name of or belonging to any public body or unit of government, or any property devoted to a public use, or any other rights or easements, including any property, rights, or easements owned by the State, units of local government, or school districts, including forest preserve districts, for purposes related to the O'Hare Modernization Program. The powers given to the City under this Section include the power to acquire, by

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No. 2--10--0131 condemnation or otherwise, any property used for cemetery purposes within or outside of the City, and to require that the cemetery be removed to a different location." 620 ILCS 65/15 (West 2004). The Modernization Act amended various other state acts, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Religious Freedom Act ) (775 ILCS 35/1 et seq.) (West 2004)), to which was added section 30: "Nothing in this Act limits the authority of the City of Chicago to exercise its powers under the O'Hare Modernization Act for the purposes of relocation of cemeteries or the graves located therein." 775 ILCS 35/30 (West 2004). Various parties brought suits in various federal courts. St. John's, joined by Helen Runge and Shirley Steele, filed a suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.1 Among the claims brought by St. John's in its amended complaint were that the City violated its constitutional rights under the free exercise clause of the first amendment to the United States Constitution and the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution by not demonstrating a compelling governmental interest and use of the least restrictive mechanism, as was ordinarily required by the Religious Freedom Act. It also alleged violations of the takings clause of the fifth amendment and the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. The federal district court dismissed the first amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and denied leave to file a second amended complaint. The Seventh Circuit

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St. John's also became involved in separate proceedings alleging violations of federal law,

begun in the District of Columbia. -3-

No. 2--10--0131 Court of Appeals affirmed. See St. John's United Church of Christ v. City of Chicago, 502 F.3d 616 (7th Cir. 2007). On October 16, 2007, the City filed complaints for condemnation against various properties, including St. Johannes cemetery, in case No. 07--ED--59. St. John's filed a traverse and motion to dismiss on February 1, 2008, alleging, among other things, that the taking of St. Johannes was unnecessary for the planned expansion of O'Hare and that it would violate the guarantee of free exercise of religion contained in the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. I

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