People v. Illinois Commerce Commission

State: Illinois

Docket No: 105131 Rel

Case Date: 11/20/2008

Preview:Docket No. 105131.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

THE PEOPLE ex rel. LISA MADIGAN, Appellant, v. ILLINOIS COMMERCE COMMISSION, Appellee. Opinion filed November 20, 2008.

JUSTICE GARMAN delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Chief Justice Fitzgerald and Justices Freeman, Thomas, Kilbride, Karmeier, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION Plaintiff-Appellant, the Attorney General, electronically transmitted an application for rehearing with the Illinois Commerce Commission after the close of business on the application's due date. The Commission accepted the application, but ultimately denied rehearing. The Attorney General then appealed to the Appellate Court, First District. The appellate court transferred the appeal to the Fourth District, which then dismissed the appeal. The Fourth District relied on the Commission's regulations to determine that the Attorney General's application for rehearing was not timely, and therefore concluded the court lacked jurisdiction. The Attorney General petitioned this court for leave to appeal the dismissal, which we allowed pursuant to Rule 315 (210 Ill. 2d R. 315(a)). This case

presents the question whether the Commission's regulations require an electronic filing (e-filing) to be transmitted before the Commission's office closes in order to be timely filed and vest the appellate court with jurisdiction to hear a subsequent appeal. BACKGROUND On November 10, 2005, Illinois Bell Telephone Company (referred to by both parties as AT&T) requested the Commission to reclassify certain residential local services as "competitive." The details of the underlying request are not necessary to understand the question before this court, as the question here is purely procedural and does not require a discussion on the merits. It is sufficient to note the Commission had jurisdiction over the matter pursuant to the Public Utilities Act (220 ILCS 5/13

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