Topic:
Administrative review and attorney's fees
(Link, D-Lake Bluff; Zalewski, D-Chicago) allows court to award attorney’s fees for the prevailing party in certain administrative-review actions. It applies only to the decision of a code-hearing officer that imposes a fine or penalty against the owner of a single-family or multi-family residential dwelling for a violation relating to the condition or use of that residential property. It is limited to municipalities with a population of 500,000 or less. The court may award the plaintiff all reasonable costs, including court costs and attorney’s fees, if the court finds that (1) the hearing officer’s decision was arbitrary and capricious; or (2) the defendant failed to file a record under Section 3-108 of the Code of Civil Procedure that is sufficient to allow the court to determine whether the hearing officer’s decision was arbitrary and capricious. The court may award the municipality the same damages if the court finds that the plaintiff’s action seeking administrative review is not reasonably well grounded in fact, is not warranted by existing law, or is not accompanied by a reasonable argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law. Passed both chambers.