Betts v. Village of Calumet Park

• Decision Date: 01 December 1960
• Docket Number: No. 35816,35816
• Citation: 170 N.E.2d 563,20 Ill.2d 524
• Parties: Herbert BETTS et al., Appellees, v. VILLAGE OF CALUMET PARK et al., Appellants.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 563

170 N.E.2d 563

20 Ill.2d 524

Herbert BETTS et al., Appellees, v. VILLAGE OF CALUMET PARK et al., Appellants.

No. 35816.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Dec. 1, 1960.

Henry A. Gentile, Blue Island (Robert J. Collins, Chicago, of counsel), for appellants.

No briefs received for appellees.

SOLFISBURG, Justice.

This is an action for declaratory judgment to determine the powers vested in the board of trustees in municipalities operating under the village form of government with respect to the appointment of officers and organization of committees. The complaint filed in the superior court of Cook County sought a declaration that certain village officers were properly appointed by the board and that other officers purportedly appointed by the village president improperly held office. The trial court entered judgment on the pleadings, decreeing that the appointments of the village board were valid, and the former appointees no longer held office.

Defendants have appealed directly to this court, alleging that a constitutional issue is involved. Of the eight grounds relied upon by defendants for a reversal of the decree below, only one purports to pose a constitutional issue. The ground is that section 9-84 of the Revised Cities and Villages Act, (Ill.Rev.Stat.1957, chap. 24, par. 9-84,) in effect at the time of the appointments, and prior to the 1959 amendment (Ill.Rev.Stat.1959, chap. 24, par. 9-84,) was an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers guaranteed by article III of the constitution of Illinois, S.H.A.

The gist of the argument appears to be that section 9-84, prior to the 1959 amendment, permitted the board of trustees, a legislative body, to make appointments of persons in the executive branch. They argue that such appointments are inherently an executive function.

It is well settled that, unless the constitutional question presented is fairly debatable, this court will not assume jurisdiction of an appeal on the ground that a constitutional question is involved. Moore v. County Board of School Trustees, 10 Ill.2d 320, 139 N.E.2d 738; Continental Paper Grading Co. v. Howard T. Fisher & Associates, Inc., 1 Ill.2d 37, 115 N.E.2d 291; People v. Long, 415 Ill. 599, 114 N.E.2d 666; Kimbrough v. Parker, 407 Ill. 274, 95 N.E.2d 473. We regard as will settled the rule that the method of appointment of other than constitutional officers is solely within the discretion of the State legislature.

In the case of People ex rel. Greening v. Green, 382 Ill. 577, 47 N.E.2d 465, 469, it was urged that the Illinois Supreme Court cannot appoint one of its members or some citizen as a member of the Illinois State Public Building Authority, because article III of the constitution has divided the powers of government into three distinct departments and has provided that no department shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the other departments, except as provided by the constitution. In ...