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Docket No. 99136-Agenda 16-March 2005.

THE VILLAGE OF CHATHAM, ILLINOIS, an Illinois Municipal
Organization, Appellee, v. THE COUNTY OF SANGAMON,
ILLINOIS, an Illinois Body Corporate and Politic, Appellant.

Opinion filed September 22, 2005.
 

JUSTICE FREEMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

At issue is whether the Village of Chatham, Illinois, or the County of Sangamon, Illinois, has zoning and building code jurisdiction over unincorporated lands that are subject to annexation agreements between the property owners and the Village. The circuit court of Sangamon County granted summary judgment in favor of the Village, finding that the Village's ordinances apply. Further, the circuit court rejected the County's claim that the provision of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-15.1-2.1 (West 2002)) which authorizes application of the Village's ordinances is unconstitutional. A divided appellate court affirmed. 351 Ill. App. 3d 889. We granted the County's petition for leave to appeal (177 Ill. 2d R. 315(a)). For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of the appellate court.

BACKGROUND

Various persons who owned property in unincorporated Sangamon County reached agreements with the Village for the future annexation of their properties. The property owners and associated contractors obtained permits from the Village and began construction upon the properties. On March 8, 2002, the County sent letters to the property owners and the Village regarding the construction, asserting building code jurisdiction over the properties. In letters to the property owners, the County's zoning and building administrator noted that the County had not issued construction permits to the owners and requested that the owners contact the County as soon as possible. In the letter to the Village, the County stated that it had noticed construction taking place in areas "pre-annexed" to the Village, where the property owners had not obtained building permits from the County. The County asked the Village to refer to the County all applications for building permits in unincorporated areas and all questions regarding zoning of unincorporated areas.

In response, the Village filed an action for declaratory judgment (735 ILCS 5/2-701 (West 2002)). The Village sought a determination that the Village, and not the County, has zoning and building code jurisdiction in areas subject to annexation agreements with the Village, and an injunction preventing the County from making demands on contractors and interfering with the Village's annexation agreements. The Village also asked the court to establish an escrow account into which contractors could deposit the County building permit fees, with the proceeds to be paid to the County if the County prevailed or refunded to the contractors if the Village prevailed. Subsequently, the Village and County stipulated that, during the pendency of the lawsuit, owners, contractors, and developers would obtain County building permits and pay appropriate fees as required by County resolutions. The Village would also issue appropriate building permits to the owners, contractors, and developers, but would not charge any additional building permit fees. The funds collected by the County were to be placed in an escrow fund, administered by the county clerk of Sangamon County.⁽¹⁾ Lastly, both the Village and the County had the right to inspect the construction sites.

In its answer to the complaint, the County admitted the existence of a controversy between the Village and the County as to the applicability of section 11-15.1-2.1 of the Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/11-15.1-2.1 (West 2002)), and demanded strict proof of the annexation agreements between the property owners and the Village. As an affirmative defense, the County claimed that section 11-15.1-2.1 contained an arbitrary classification and violated the special legislation provisions of article IV, section 13, of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. IV,