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People ex rel. Ryan v. Village of Hanover Park, Nos. 1-98-3752, 1-98-3851, 1-98-3852 Cons.

1st District, December 30, 1999

First Division

JUSTICE RAKOWSKI delivered the opinion of the court

The Illinois Vehicle Code (Code) (625 ILCS 5/1-100 et seq. (West 1998)), and certain Supreme Court Rules provide a comprehensive scheme for uniformly enforcing Illinois traffic laws under chapter 11 of the Code. This scheme provides that, upon an arresting officer issuing a uniform citation, the traffic offense is then adjudicated in circuit court. Where adjudication of a traffic offense results in a conviction, the clerk of the court reports the conviction to the Secretary of State so that he may monitor and maintain accurate records of repeat offenders and provide a basis for suspending or revoking driver's licenses. Defendants Village of Hanover Park, Village of Northfield, Village of Schaumburg, Village of Kenilworth, and Village of McCook enacted alternative traffic programs that allow the traffic offender to pay a settlement fee in lieu of court adjudication. This process eliminates the possibility of the offender receiving a conviction for the offense and having the conviction reported to the Secretary of State. The question raised in this quo warranto action is whether the alternative traffic programs are inconsistent with the state scheme to the extent that defendants were without authority to enact such programs. Because we find these programs disrupt the uniform enforcement of the Code's traffic provisions in chapter 11, we conclude that defendants lack the authority to implement such programs. We therefore affirm the trial court's judgment on the pleadings in favor of the People of Illinois (People).

I. Background

The Attorney General initiated this quo warranto action on behalf of the People on the relation of George H. Ryan (then Secretary of State) against defendants. Metro Counties of Illinois, a non-profit Illinois corporation consisting of 12 of the most populous counties in Illinois, intervened as an intervenor-plaintiff.⁽¹⁾ Granting the People's motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to section 2-615 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-615 (West 1998)), the circuit court found the ordinances implementing alternative traffic programs inconsistent with the laws of Illinois and therefore invalid. The court enjoined defendants from further administering the ordinances at issue. We have jurisdiction under Supreme Court Rule 301. 155 Ill. 2d R. 301.

A. The Code Enforcement Scheme

Section 16-102 of the Code directs the police to patrol the public highways and make arrests for violations of the Code. (625 ILCS 5/16-102 (West 1998); see 625 ILCS 5/16-101 (West 1998) (providing that section 16-102, among others, shall be applicable to the enforcement of the entire Code); see also 65 ILCS 5/11-80-1 (West 1998) (municipalities' ability to regulate the use of its streets under section 11-80-2 of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-80-2 (West 1998)) is subject to the provisions of the Code). Upon arrest of a traffic offender, the officer issues a citation on a standard from called a uniform citation and complaint ("uniform citation") pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 552 (134 Ill. 2d R. 552) and section 111-3 of the Illinois Code of Criminal Procedure (725 ILCS 5/111-3 (West 1998)).⁽²⁾ Supreme Court Rule 552 directs the arresting officer to complete the uniform citation and, within 48 hours of the arrest, transmit it to the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the violation occurred. At that point, the uniform citation serves as the complaint against the offender and is assigned a case number. 134 Ill. 2d R. 552; 725 ILCS 5/111-3 (West 1998). The court adjudicates the case, and where adjudication leads to a conviction, the clerk of the court reports the conviction to the Secretary of State in accord with Supreme Court Rule 552 and section 6-204 of the Code. See 134 Ill. 2d R. 552; 625 ILCS 5/6-204 (West 1998). The Secretary of State is charged with, inter alia, the duty of maintaining records of Code convictions (625 ILCS 5/6-117(c) (West 1998)) and revoking, canceling, or suspending licenses of those individuals whose traffic violations evidence an unfitness to safely operate motor vehicles (625 ILCS 5/6-204(a) (West 1998)).

B. Defendants' Alternative Traffic Programs

For purposes of discussion, the following is a generalization of all of the defendants' programs, although it must be noted there are varying distinctions between each individual program. Generally, defendants' ordinances allow municipal police officers to issue a "P-ticket" for certain traffic offenses rather than a uniform citation. Compare Village of Hanover Park Municipal Code