Nat'l Jockey Club v. Illinois Racing Comm'n

Citation364 Ill. 630,5 N.E.2d 224
Decision Date10 December 1936
Docket NumberNo. 23752.,23752.
PartiesNATIONAL JOCKEY CLUB v. ILLINOIS RACING COMMISSION et al.
CourtSupreme Court of Illinois

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Certiorari proceedings by the National Jockey Club against the Illinois Racing Commission and others. From a judgment quashing the writ, plaintiff appeals.

Appeal dismissed.Appeal from Superior Court, Cook County; Joseph B. David, judge.

Markman, Donovan & Sullivan, of Chicago (Henry O. Nickel, of Chicago, of counsel), for appellant.

Otto Kerner, Atty. Gen. (William C. Clausen, of Chicago, of counsel), for appellee.

JONES, Justice.

The Illinois Racing Commission allotted racing dates for the 1936 racing season to six applicants in the territory known as the ‘Chicago district.’ The National Jockey Club instituted certiorari proceedings in the superior court of Cook county to review the action of the commission. After a hearing that court quashed the writ, and the Jockey Club has appealed to this court.

Appellant requested twenty-seven racing dates between October 1 and October 31, 1936. The commission allocated the first ten days requested by appellant to the track at Lincoln Fields. The remainder of the month of October was allotted to appellant. Other allotments not here material were made to the other applicants. Appellant filed with the commission objections to the schedule of dates. Upon hearings by the commission the objections were overruled and the schedule confirmed.

The purpose of appellant is to compel a re-allotment of dates for the racing season of 1936. It claims that the commission exceeded its statutory jurisdiction, proceeded illegally, arbitrarily refused to allot to appellant the dates requested, in violation of the statute and appellant's constitutional rights, and that section 4 of the Racing Act (Smith-Hurd Ill.Stats. c. 8, § 37d), fixing license fees on the basis of population, is an arbitrary and discriminatory classification, in violation of the State and Federal Constitutions.

It is obvious that the time for racing dates allotted by the commission and the additional dates requested by appellant has expired. Relief respecting any of those dates is not now possible. As to that issue the question has become moot. The rule is, that when a reviewing court has notice of facts which show that only moot questions or mere abstract propositions are involved it will dismiss the appeal or writ of error and will not review the cause merely to decide moot questions. The duty of judicial...

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28 cases
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    • United States
    • Illinois Supreme Court
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    ... ... No. 48782 ... Supreme Court of Illinois ... Aug. 8, 1977 ... Rehearing Denied Oct ... See National Jockey Club v. Illinois Racing Commission (1936), 364 ... ...
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    • Illinois Supreme Court
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    ... ... v. Illinois Harness Racing Comm'n (1959), 15 Ill.2d 559, 155 N.E.2d 626, and National Jockey Club v. Illinois Racing Comm'n (1936), 364 Ill. 630, 5 N.E.2d 224. These cases were brought to ... ...
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