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December 5, 2009

 

Good News!!!!!!!!

 

Retired local attorney Ed Vogt, who represents the POWER sponsored case (Byron Sandberg) against the second application for the proposed Fred Barbara Chicago regional landfill and the other petitioners which include Kankakee County,  received notice today from the Illinois Appellate  Court of their findings. 

Two out of the three judges ruled against the second dump application because the applicant failed to wait the required two years, before they filed the second application, after the first application was turned down by the Illinois Pollution Control Board because it failed to prove protection of the health and safety of the community. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the Illinois Pollution Control Board decision.
 
 
In addition to the above, all three judges ruled  unanimously against the second dump application because it is non-compliant with the Kankakee County Sold Waste Plan because of its location.  This issue was argued by Kankakee County.

 

Read the full Appellate Court decision here.  Give it time to load as it is 42 pages long.

 

This decision comes after the Illinois Supreme Court, in March, ordered the Appellate Court to vacate their decision in favor of the Fred Barbara second dump application.

The March Illinois Supreme Court Supervisory order reads as follows.

 "In the exercise of its supervisory authority, the Illinois Supreme Court has ordered the appellate court to vacate its prior order and ordered it to reconsider the issues". It stated: "The appellate court will not be flippant in its decision, but will act with the utmost decorum and give the issues the attention and consideration they deserve. The appellate court will address the issues thoroughly and completely." The court has given the current panel the option of reassigning the case to another panel, and stated: "Failure to comply with this supervisory order in all respects will result in the appellate court's decision being summarily vacated and the cause remanded to a different panel of justices." The underlined portions are the Illinois Supreme Court's emphasis.

 

Fred Barbara does have the opportunity to appeal the Illinois Appellate Court decision against his proposed dump to the Illinois Supreme Court.  It is also very possible, the Illinois Supreme Court will not hear the case, given the fact they have already ruled against the first Fred Barbara dump application, ruling it failed to prove protection of the health and safety of the community.

 

Fred Barbara may also choose to not appeal since the FAA recently got involved with this issue after OUTRAGE informed the FAA the proposed dump would be less then 10,000 feet from the airport runway.  Furthermore with the recent announced decision to construct a National Guard base on the airport's west side, it is likely the National Guard would also objected to a huge bird attractant in its immediate air space.  Details here.