Keating v. Iozzo
508 N.E.2d 503
155 Ill.App.3d 774, 508 N.E.2d 503, 108 Ill.Dec. 342
(Cite as: 155 Ill.App.3d 774, 508 N.E.2d 503, 108 Ill.Dec. 342)
suant to statute and the discretion of the clerk was irrelevant. The court disposed of plaintiff's second argument by
distinguishing Sesser and expressly refusing to discuss the
hypothetical situation where plaintiff could have come to
the office to file her objections on Saturday afternoon and
found it closed.
[4] Thus, while Mierswa did not resolve the issue we now
confront, it is apparent that the court had before it many of
the same factors now before us. Plaintiff in Mierswa had actual opportunity to file on that particular Saturday from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. and had statutory notice that the opportunity
was available from 9 a.m. to noon. Moreover, the court specifically noted that plaintiff stipulated that the office had
been open until 5 p.m. and did not argue that she had been
unable to file on Saturday. As noted above, two of these
factors--opportunity and notice--were also pertinent in Pettigrove v. Parro Construction Corp. (1963), 44 Ill.App.2d
421, 194 N.E.2d 521, Burgess v. Erickson (1966), 72
Ill.App.2d 85, 218 N.E.2d 111, and John Allen Co. v. Sesser
Concrete Products Co. (1969), 114 Ill.App.2d 186, 252
N.E.2d 361. We conclude that when a plaintiff has no opportunity to comply with a statutory deadline, or no notice
of such an opportunity, it is likely the deadline will be extended. On the other hand, when plaintiff has notice of the
opportunity to comply, and can **508 ***347 show no
hardship resulting from limitations on the opportunity, extension of a statutory deadline is disfavored.
Page 5
wished to file. Iozzo himself testified that he was so informed. Thus, even if Iozzo had believed the clerk would be
available during the entire time the village hall was open, he
was personally informed otherwise directly by the clerk.
[5] Finally, according to the record Iozzo made no showing,
either at the time or at the subsequent hearing, that the limited hours set by the clerk worked a hardship on him or
made it impossible for him to comply with the filing deadline. Since the objector had both notice and an opportunity
to file, and showed no hardship from the limits on his opportunity, we cannot say that the filing deadline should have
been extended. Iozzo's objections were not timely filed, and
the petitioners' names were properly placed back on the ballot.
In accord with the views expressed above, the order of the
circuit court of DuPage County is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
WOODWARD and DUNN, JJ., concur.
155 Ill.App.3d 774, 508 N.E.2d 503, 108 Ill.Dec. 342
END OF DOCUMENT
In the case at bar there is no evidence that the village clerk
was under any statutory or local obligation to be present in
her office at any specific time or to provide deputy clerks to
function in her stead. That the village hall may have been
open does not establish that the clerk's presence was required during village hall hours. The evidence does not
demonstrate, either, that the clerk voluntarily set up and
*781 maintained regular office hours. In fact, it seems clear
she was not customarily present in her office on a full-time
basis.
Regardless, however, of what the clerk's hours were, or
whether she even kept regular hours, on the last day for filing objections she personally contacted all the candidates by
telephone to inform them she was in her office and indicated
how long she would be there to accept any objections they
© 2006 Thomson/West. No Claim to Orig. U.S. Govt. Works.
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