ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONfROL BOARD
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
)
)
Complainant,
)
)
~
)
)
COMMUNITY LANDFILL COMPANY, INC., )
and CITY OF MORRIS, an lllinois Municipal
)
Corporation,.
)
)
Respondents.
)
NOTICE OF FlLING
TO: SEE ATTACHED SERVICE LIST
PCB 03-191
(Enforcement - Land)
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on September 10, 2007, we electronically filed
with the
Clerk
ofthe lllinois Pollution Control Board, City ofMoms's Reply in Support ofIts Motion for
Leave to File Amended Affrrmative Defenses, a copy
of which is attached hereto and hereby
served upon you.
Dated:
September 10, 2007
Charles F. Helsten
Hinshaw
& Culbertson LLP
100 Park Avenue
P.O. Box 1389
Rockford, IL
61105-1389
815-490-4900
Respectfully submitted,
On
behalf ofthe CITY OF MORRIS
lsi
Charles F. Helsten
One
of Its Attorneys
70535478V! 806289
Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 10, 2007
BEFORE THE ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
)
)
Complainant,
)
)
v.
)
)
COMMUNITY LANDFILL COMPANY, INC., an
)
Illinois Corporation, and THE CITY OF MORRIS,
)
an Illinois Municipal Corporation,
)
)
Respondents.
)
)
PCB No.
03
w
191
CITY OF MORRIS'SREPLY IN SUPPORT OF ITS MOTION FOR
LEAVE TO FILE AMENDED AFFlRMATIVE DEFENSES
NOW COMES the Respondent, CITY OF MORRIS, by and through its attorneys, HINSHAW
&
CULBERTSON, LLP, and for its Reply in support of its Motion for Leave to File Amended Affmnative
Defenses, states as follows:
1.
The State
has
objected to the City's request for leave to file amended Affinnative
Defenses on the basis that the amended defenses are inappropriate and/or irrelevant because "[t]he only
remaining issue is for the Board to decide the appropriate relief for the violations." (State's Response
in
. Opposition at
ft
1,3,5).
2.
Although the City respectfully disagrees with the Board'sprior decision holding the City
liable for violating the Act, the City nevertheless respects the Board's order, and, accordingly, directs the
proffered Amended Affirmative Defenses not at liability, but, instead, at the factors listed in 415 ILCS
5/33(c), 42(f), and 42(h), which will be used to determine what remedy,
if any, should be imposed against
the City.
3.
Some representative illustrations
of the remedies and factors at issue in the upcoming
hearing which are directly impacted by the Amended Affirmative Defenses
are:
a. Potential Remedy: Attorney's Fees
~
415 ILCS 5/42(f) provides for a potential award
of attorney's fees, which is prohibited as against the City by the Illinois Tort
hnrnunity Act.
Yang v. City ofChicago,
195 m.2d 96, 104 (2001).
70536215v I 806289
Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 10, 2007
b. Potential Remedy: Punitive Damages -415 ILCS 5/42(h)(4) authorizes the levying of
punitive penalties in order to "deter further violations by the respondent and to
otherwise aid in enhancing voluntary compliance with this Act by the respondent and
other persons similarly subject
to the Act." The TIlinois Tort Immunity Act prohibits
the assessment
of punitive damages against a municipality. 745 ILCS 10/2-102.
c. Factor MeZ): Attempts to Comply with the Act's Requirements - 415 ILCS 5/42(h)
provides that among the factors to be considered in awarding a remedy are "the
presence or absence
of due diligence on the part of the respondent in
attempting to
comply with requirements of this Act and regulations
thereunder."
Id.
(emphasis
added). The City has at all times acted on the good faith belief that it was not the
party required under the Act to post financial assurance, thus the Amended
Affirmative Defenses expressing the City's position as to liability are entirely
relevant
to a consideration of this factor.
4.
As illustrated by the exemplars cited above, the amended AffJ.IIDative Defenses are
directly relevant to the Board'sdetennination
of the appropriate remedy to be imposed against the City, if
any, at the upcoming hearing.
5.
As this Board noted in
People
v.
Sheridan Sand and Gravel,
PCB 06-177 (January 26,
2007), it is the Board's.practice to allow amendments to pleadings filed with the Board, except
in
cases
where it would prejudice a party.
See also: People v. The Highlands, L.L.C. and Murphy's Farm, Inc.,
PCB 00-104 (May 6,2004).
6.
Moreover, the most important consideration in whether to allow a requested amendment
is whether allowing the amendment furthers the ends
ofjustice.
Savage v. Pho,
312 Ill. App. 3d 553, 556-
57 (5th Dist. 2000). Any doubts as to whether leave to file an amended pleading should be granted should
be decided in favor
of allowing the amendment.
Id.
7.
In
enacting the Illinois Tort Immunity Act, the legislature expressly immunized units of
local government with respect to punitive judgments and attorney's fee awards, thereby protecting
2
70536215vl 806289
Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 10, 2007
taxpayers and government from judgments other than those designed to compensate an injured party for
an actual injury.
See e.g. Yang v. City of Chicago,
195 li1.2d 96, 104 (2001). The Tort Immunity Act
evidences the General
Assembly's determination that such limitations onjudgments against units ofloeal
government serve the ends ofjustice.
8.
Finally, the State's assertion that it will
be prejudiced and "punished" if the Board grants
leave for the City
to file its Amended Affirmative Defenses is completely and totally inconsistent with the
State's simultaneous assertion that the proposed defenses are irrelevant
to the issues under consideration
at the upcoming hearing.
WHEREFORE, for the reasons set forth above, the City respectfully requests that the Board grant
Dated:
Charles F.
Helsten
Hinshaw
&
Culbertson LLP
100 Park Avenue
P.O. Box 1389
Rockford,
IL 61105-1389
815-490-4900
ative Defenses.
This document utilized 100% recycled paper products.
3
70536215vl 806289
Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 10, 2007
AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE
The undersigned, pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-109 of the Illinois Code of Civil
Procedure, hereby under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America,
certifies that on September 10, 2007, she caused to
be served a copy ofthe foregoing upon:
Mr. Christopher Grant
Mark LaRose
Assistant Attorney General
Clarissa Grayson
Environmental Bureau
LaRose
&
Bosco, Ltd.
69 W. Washington St., Suite 1800
200 N. LaSalle, Suite 2810
Chicago,IL 60602
Chicago,
II..
60601
Mr. John T. Theniault, Assistant Clerk
Bradley Halloran
lllinois Pollution Control Board
Hearing Officer
100
W. Randolph, Suite 11-500
Illinois Pollution Control Board
Chicago, IL 60601
100
W. Randolph, Suite 11-500
(via electronic filing)
Chicago,
II..
60601
Mr. Scott Belt
Jennifer A. Tomas
Scott M. Belt
&
Associates,
P
.C.
Assistant Attorney General
105 East Main Street
Environmental Bureau
Suite 206
69 W. Washington Street, Suite 1800
Monis,
II..
60450
Chicago,
IL 60602
ViaE-Mail.
HINSHAW
&
CULBERTSON
100 Park Avenue
P.O. Box 1389
Rockford, IL 61105-1389
(815) 490-4900
704 I5200v1 806289
Electronic Filing, Received, Clerk's Office, September 10, 2007