(Download) "Poole v. City of Kankakee" by Supreme Court of Illinois # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Poole v. City of Kankakee
- Author : Supreme Court of Illinois
- Release Date : January 21, 1950
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 68 KB
Description
April 25, 1949, the city of Kankakee passed an ordinance providing for the issue of $430,000 in ""Motor Vehicle Parking System Revenue Bonds,"" for the stated purpose of acquiring eight certain tracts of real estate to be used for the operation of off-street vehicle parking lots in the business section of the city. Some of the tracts sought were vacant, while the use of others would entail the purchase and removal of structures. The action of the city was purportedly based on the power granted it by article 52.1 of the Revised Cities and Villages Act, (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1949, chap. 24, art. 52.1,) titled, ""Special Powers รข€” Parking Space for Motor Vehicles."" We shall hereafter refer to this statute as the ""Parking Act."" On August 5, 1949, Warren G. Poole, the owner and operator of a private parking lot in the business district, Carl L. Wolf, a downtown business man, Fred W. Swannell, Sr., a property owner and taxpayer, and Harry H. Pippin, a motor vehicle operator in the city, filed a complaint in the circuit court of Kankakee County seeking to enjoin the city, its mayor and clerk, from proceeding under the ordinance. It was alleged that both the statute and ordinance are invalid for reasons later discussed in detail. Defendants filed an answer, the case was called for trial, and evidence was heard. The trial court then entered a decree which found the Parking Act to be constitutional, with the exception of section 8, (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1949, chap. 24, par. 52.1-8), which section authorizes municipalities acquiring parking facilities under the act to lease them on a year-to-year basis, collect rentals and to make contracts for their operation and management. It was the opinion of the trial court that the foregoing provision allows a municipality to lend financial aid to private enterprise, and permits the surrender of the municipalities' police power. The decree further found the city ordinance to be invalid on the ground that it was not a reasonable exercise of the power granted by the Parking Act, first, because no necessity for the parking lots was shown to exist in Kankakee, and, second, because it allowed the income from existing parking meters to be pledged as security for the bonds issued to finance the acquisition of the new facilities. In conclusion the decree enjoined the city and its officers from proceeding under the ordinance. They have appealed directly to this court, the validity of both the statute and the ordinance being involved and the trial judge having certified that, in his opinion, the public interest requires a direct appeal. It is appellants' position that the Parking Act is constitutional in its entirety and that the ordinance is valid. Plaintiffs-appellees have filed a cross appeal urging that the Parking Act is completely unconstitutional.