VILLAGE OF WESTON, a Municipal Corporation ;WEST CHI- CAGO STATE BANK, an Illinois Corporation ; THE ILLINOIS BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY, an Illinois Corporation ; THE COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY, an Illinois Corpora- tion; SAMUEL A. L ASUSA;LOUIS ANCEL; WILLIAM S. LAWRENCE AND ASSOCIATES, INC. ; EDMUND M. BURKE AND ASSOCIATES, Lm. ; GRUMLEY, DICKE, THORTON AND CLARK; AND WHEATON DAILY JOURNAL, Claimants, v. STATE OF ILLINOIS, Respondent.
Case summary
Claimants sought $43,800.00 for professional services performed for the Village of Weston under contracts. The court awarded the full amount based on a stipulation that the State's acquisition of all Village property destroyed the Village's ability to pay, and the amounts were fair and reasonable.
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Headnotes
- MUNICIPAL ~ORPORATION-recover~ for professional services performed on behalf of municipal corporation. Where, as a direct and proximate result of the acquisition by the State of all taxable property, a village was precluded from collecting property taxes and the inability of the village to provide funds for payment for professional services was destroyed, a claim will be allowed.
Claimants seek recovery of a total sum of $43,800.00 resulting from professional services performed on behalf of the Village of Weston by the claimants, pursuant to contracts entered into between the claimants and the Village of Weston.
The parties in this case have submitted a stipuIation, which sets forth in part the following: [*484] “3. That claimants submitted bills for their services, and that said bills were approved by the Corpo’rate Authorities of the Village at a duly constituted meeting. “4. That the amounts set forth in Paragraph 6 hereof are the fair and reasonable value of the services performed by the claimants, and that said amounts are due and owing. “6. That, as a direct and proximate result of the acquisition by the State of Illinois of all of the property comprising said Village of Weston, thus removing all such property from the tax rolls as tax exempt property, the said Village will be precluded from levying or collecting any future property taxes, thus destroying the ability of said Village to provide funds to pay the amounts claimed by the claimants herein. “6. That the following (reduced) amounts represent and are a fair and reasonable settlement and compromise of the claims herein, which, as compromised, are as follows: Samuel A. La Susa ................. .$ 30,000.00
Louis Ancel .......................... 6,800.00
William S. Lawrence and Associates, Inc. 6,000.00 Edmund M. Burke and Associates, Ltd. .. 2,000.00
Total ................................ $ 43,800.00
...... “9. That each of the claimants herein is justly entitled to receive from the State of Illinois in this cause the amounts set forth in Paragraph 6 hereof.”
The stipulation further states that “upon the approval of said claims in this proceeding, the Corporation Authorities of the Village of Weston will take such action as may be necessary to cause the dissolution of said Village of Weston as a municipal corporation.’’ There being no question in dispute, the claimants are hereby awarded the sum of $43,800.00 to be distributed as set forth in the foregoing stipulation.