Graves v. Cook Cnty. Republican Party
| Decision Date | 14 February 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-18-1516,1-18-1516 |
| Citation | 445 Ill.Dec. 126,166 N.E.3d 155,2020 IL App (1st) 181516 |
| Parties | Steven S. GRAVES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. COOK COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY and Chicago Republican Party, Defendants, (Chicago Republican Party, Defendant-Appellant). |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
¶ 1 This appeal concerns the timing of a bylaw revision by the Cook County Republican Party that declared a vacancy for the office of Republican Ward Committeeman when an elected or appointed committeeman votes or has voted in the primary for another political party during the previous eight years.
¶ 2 Plaintiff Steven Graves filed a declaratory action against the Cook County Republican Party and the Chicago Republican Party (collectively, the GOP), seeking a declaration that he was the Republican Ward Committeeman for the 19th Ward in the City of Chicago following the March 2016 primary. The circuit court entered a declaratory judgment in favor of plaintiff and denied defendants' motion to reconsider. The Chicago Republican Party has appealed, contending that the circuit court erred in entering judgment in plaintiff's favor because such judgment violated its constitutional right of freedom of association. Although plaintiff has not filed a brief on appeal, we will consider the appeal pursuant to the principles set forth in First Capitol Mortgage Corp. v. Talandis Construction Corp. , 63 Ill. 2d 128, 131-33, 345 N.E.2d 493 (1976). For the following reasons, we affirm.
¶ 4 The facts are taken from the common law record as defendant has not filed a report of proceedings with its appeal.
¶ 5 This case was before the circuit court on the validity of the March 15, 2016, election results for the position of 19th Ward Republican Committeeman. Plaintiff filed his nomination papers with the Chicago Board of Elections for election to the office of Chicago's 19th Ward Republican Ward Committeeman for the March 2016 primary.1
¶ 6 Based on perceived infiltration of the Republican Party by Democratic Party operatives, the bylaws of the Cook County Republican Party were amended on March 9, 2016, to include the following section:
"SECTION 3: A vacancy shall exist in the office of Republican Committeeman in any ward or township in which an elected or appointed committeeman votes, or has voted, in the primary for another political party in the previous eight years."
¶ 7 Plaintiff received 2115 of the 3988 votes cast for the Republican Ward Committeeman of the 19th Ward in the March 15, 2016, election. On April 5, 2016, Cook County Clerk David Orr issued a Certificate of Election certifying that plaintiff had been elected as Republican Ward Committeeman for the 19th Ward for a full four-year term.
¶ 8 On April 12, 2016, the Chairman of the GOP sent plaintiff a letter stating that plaintiff failed to meet the eligibility requirements for the office of ward committeeman based on his previous voting in primaries of another political party and that a vacancy for that office existed in his ward.
¶ 9 Plaintiff filed the subject complaint for declaratory judgment in the chancery division on April 15, 2016, naming the GOP as defendants. Plaintiff sought a declaration that he was the duly elected Republican Committeeman for the 19th Ward in the City of Chicago and that he be allowed to serve in that position.
¶ 10 In his complaint, plaintiff alleged that the bylaw in question conflicted with section 7-8 of the Election Code (Code) ( 10 ILCS 5/7-8(b) (West 2016)), which required only that each candidate for ward committeeman be a resident of and in the ward where he sought to be elected ward committeeman.
¶ 11 The GOP filed a section 2-619(9) ( 735 ILCS 5/2-619(9) (West 2016)) motion to dismiss on May 25, 2016. In their motion, defendants contended that it had an absolute right, pursuant to the first amendment right of association, to set eligibility requirements for its leadership, pursuant to Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee , 489 U.S. 214, 109 S.Ct. 1013, 103 L.Ed.2d 271 (1989). While Illinois law provides for the election of ward committeemen under section 7-8 of the Code, the GOP argued that a ward committeeman was not a public official. Rather, he was a party officer, and as such, was strictly and only a political functionary. See Orbach v. Axelrod , 100 Ill. App. 3d 973, 977, 56 Ill.Dec. 319, 427 N.E.2d 399 (1981). The GOP maintained that the State could not interfere with its right of association absent a compelling state interest and that section 7-8 of the Code could not supersede an internal bylaw of the GOP.
¶ 12 The GOP's motion was entered and continued to June 28, 2016, and then again to July 28, 2016. On July 28, 2016, the case was transferred to the county division because it pertained to the March 2016 elections.
¶ 13 On October 21, 2016, plaintiff filed a "Motion to Advance," requesting that the circuit court advance the matter for further proceedings. The GOP was granted leave to file an amended motion to dismiss on January 11, 2017, and a hearing was scheduled for February 22, 2017. On February 22, 2017, the circuit court entered an order continuing the GOP's motion until March 14, 2017.
¶ 14 On March 8, 2017, the GOP filed a second 2-619(9) motion to dismiss, contending again that the United States Supreme Court had repeatedly barred State interference with the internal procedures of a political party to select leadership. Additionally, the GOP contended that the Northern District of Illinois had recently decided a case that upheld the bylaw over the Code based on the first amendment . Cook County Republican Party v. Board of Election Commissioners , 207 F. Supp. 3d 841 (N.D. Ill. 2016). The GOP sought dismissal with prejudice because the judgment sought by plaintiff would be unconstitutional under the first and fourteenth amendments. U.S. Const., amends. I, XIV.
¶ 15 The circuit court denied the GOP's motion on March 14, 2017, and ordered it to file its answer and motion for summary judgment by March 29, 2017. The court set a hearing on dispositive motions for May 23, 2017.
¶ 16 The GOP filed its summary judgment motion on May 23, 2017, which the court accepted late over plaintiff's objection. Plaintiff's motion for default, filed on June 9, 2017, was also continued and both motions were set for hearing on August 7, 2017. The record does not reflect the disposition of plaintiff's motion; however, the GOP's motion was subsequently set for hearing on September 8, 2017, when it was then entered and continued until September 22, 2017.
¶ 17 The circuit court entered a written memorandum opinion and order after briefing by both parties and oral argument on September 22, 2017. In its order, the circuit court found that plaintiff filed his nomination papers in November 2015, and at that time, there was no objection to his candidacy. Later in 2015, the GOP became aware that a large number of people with no Republican primary voting record had filed to appear on the ballot for Republican Ward Committeemen in Chicago wards. When early voting began on February 4, 2016, for the March 15, 2016, primary election, plaintiff was still a viable candidate under the Republican bylaws as the bylaw provision in question was not adopted until March 9, 2016. While the GOP stated that the bylaw was amended in advance of the March 2016 Republican primary, the circuit court found that the amendment occurred during the early voting period for the primary and, further that it was during the primary that plaintiff arguably became ineligible to serve as a ward committeeman under the bylaws.
¶ 18 The circuit court further noted that Illinois courts favor ballot access and guard the rights of voters to endorse and nominate the candidates of their choice, citing Lyons MVP Party v. Lyons, Illinois, Municipal Officers Electoral Board , 407 Ill. App. 3d 1004, 349 Ill.Dec. 23, 945 N.E.2d 1175 (2011). The court also noted that a state indisputably has a compelling interest in preserving the integrity of its election process, citing Eu , 489 U.S. at 232, 109 S.Ct. 1013. In this case, the court found that the GOP had essentially invalidated the election results by virtue of a bylaw that disqualified plaintiff as a candidate after voting began. Under those facts, the court found that the GOP's right to judgment as a matter of law was not clear and free from doubt, as the right to vote is a fundamental right that deserves zealous protection by the courts. See Tully v. Edgar , 171 Ill. 2d 297, 306-08, 215 Ill.Dec. 646, 664 N.E.2d 43 (1996). The circuit court denied the GOP's motion for summary judgment.
¶ 19 On November 20, 2017, plaintiff subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment based on the court's ruling of September 22, 2017. The circuit court entered an order directing the GOP to respond and file their motion to reconsider by December 4, 2017, and set a hearing date of December 27, 2017. The GOP subsequently filed a motion to reconsider the circuit court's September 22, 2017, denial of its summary judgment motion on December 7, 2017. Both motions were denied on December 27, 2017, and the case was continued to February 1, 2018, for status.
¶ 20 On January 5, 2018, the case was reassigned to another judge due to the retirement of the sitting judge who was presiding over the case.
¶ 21 An undated draft order indicates that the matter was entered and continued, and the GOP was granted leave to file a supplemental memorandum regarding the issue of public versus private duties by February 15, 2018, and the matter was continued until March 9, 2018.
¶ 22 On February 20, 2018, the GOP filed its supplemental memorandum regarding section 25-6 of the Code ( 10 ILCS 5/25-6 (West 2018) ), contending that it was raised for the first time at "this stage of the proceeding" by the circuit court sua sponte , having...
To continue reading
Request your trial