{ "id": 1156824, "name": "JOHN VANKO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MICHAEL F. SHEAHAN, Sheriff of Cook County, et al., Defendants-Appellants", "name_abbreviation": "Vanko v. Sheahan", "decision_date": "1996-02-21", "docket_number": "No. 1 \u2014 95 \u2014 1117", "first_page": "302", "last_page": "306", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "278 Ill. App. 3d 302" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ill. App. Ct.", "id": 8837, "name": "Illinois Appellate Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 29, "name_long": "Illinois", "name": "Ill." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "420 N.E.2d 1066", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "95 Ill. App. 3d 409", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 3115260 ], "pin_cites": [ { "page": "417" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/95/0409-01" ] }, { "cite": "632 N.E.2d 87", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "260 Ill. App. 3d 529", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 2863490 ], "weight": 3, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "538" }, { "page": "535" }, { "page": "536" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/260/0529-01" ] }, { "cite": "427 N.E.2d 153", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "86 Ill. 2d 179", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 5468493 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/86/0179-01" ] }, { "cite": "648 N.E.2d 939", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "N.E.2d", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "271 Ill. App. 3d 370", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 249327 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/271/0370-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 542, "char_count": 10477, "ocr_confidence": 0.753, "pagerank": { "raw": 1.3841982000895245e-07, "percentile": 0.641149928045998 }, "sha256": "2476b8a0f1b00948e6699d429092426203495d0f14928230d130facb88c5bbc5", "simhash": "1:1b3c089f2f948472", "word_count": 1679 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T17:33:42.611238+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "JOHN VANKO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MICHAEL F. SHEAHAN, Sheriff of Cook County, et al., Defendants-Appellants." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "JUSTICE GREIMAN\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nJohn Vanko (plaintiff) was appointed by former Cook County Sheriff James O\u2019Grady to the position of deputy sheriff on July 7, 1987. Current Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan discharged plaintiff on June 24, 1994, upon the belief that plaintiff\u2019s initial appointment was not in accordance with section 3 \u2014 7008 of the Counties Code (the Act), which establishes appointment eligibility criteria. 55 ILCS 5/3 \u2014 7008 (West 1992).\nUpon discharge, plaintiff brought a mandamus action to compel the Cook County Sheriff\u2019s Merit Board (the Board or Merit Board) to afford him a hearing. Plaintiff claims Sheriff Sheahan\u2019s unilateral discharge contravened section 3 \u2014 7012 of the Act, which affords a deputy sheriff the right to a hearing before the Board before being removed, demoted or suspended. (55 ILCS 5/3 \u2014 7012 (West 1992).) The defendants, Michael Sheahan, Robert Goldsmith, Edward Carik, John Robinson and the Merit Board (defendants), argue that no such hearing is mandated because plaintiff was never certified or appointed in accordance with section 3 \u2014 7008 and thus is not entitled to protected merit status under section 3 \u2014 7012.\nThe trial court granted plaintiff\u2019s motion for summary judgment and, pursuant to plaintiff\u2019s complaint for a writ of mandamus, ordered the Board to provide him a hearing. Although we affirm, it is unclear whether the trial court required the Board to hold a disciplinary hearing to determine whether the sheriff has some cause to discharge plaintiff or whether the Board\u2019s task is merely to inquire as to the circumstances surrounding plaintiff\u2019s initial appointment. As to the first issue, where it is clear that a deputy has not been certified, no hearing is required and the sheriff may discharge the plaintiff as he might any probationary or at-will employee unprotected by the Act.\nAs to the second issue, we find, as a matter of law, that the proper construction of the Act requires the Board to resolve such question at a hearing held in accordance with section 3 \u2014 7012.\nThe standard of review in summary judgment cases is to determine by de novo review, independent of the trial court\u2019s reasoning, whether summary judgment was appropriate. If that review reveals the existence of material issues of fact, reversal is warranted. Zoeller v. Augustine (1995), 271 Ill. App. 3d 370, 648 N.E.2d 939.\nTo establish the elements required for the issuance of a writ of mandamus, plaintiff must set forth every material fact needed to prove he is entitled to the writ and carry the burden to show that he has a clear, legal right to the writ. (Chicago Association of Commerce & Industry v. Regional Transportation Authority (1981), 86 Ill. 2d 179, 427 N.E.2d 153.) In this action, there is an unmistakable factual issue in need of resolution, namely, whether plaintiff was certified for appointment by the Board in 1987 and thus vested with merit status mandating a predischarge hearing. That issue, however, is for the Board to determine. We need only decide that plaintiff has a clear legal right to a hearing where the fact of certification is unclear.\nSection 3 \u2014 7008 provides that appointments to the position of deputy sheriff shall be made from the ranks of those applicants \"who have been certified by the Board as being qualified for appointment.\u201d (55 ILCS 5/3 \u2014 7008 (West 1992).) The record offers conflicting and arguably inconclusive evidence of whether plaintiff was certified by the Board. The trial court found witness depositions to be in conflict with affidavits and cited defendants\u2019 inability to identify a key signature purporting to \"reject\u201d plaintiff, and we note an absence in the record of evidence of plaintiff\u2019s educational background, enumerated in the Act as one of the criteria for certification. (55 ILCS 5/3\u2014 7008 (West 1992).) This clearly presents a factual issue which in turn begs the question, by whom is it to be resolved?\nDefendants direct our attention again to section 3 \u2014 7008, which includes the provision, \"All appointees shall serve a probationary period of 12 months and during that period may be discharged at the will of the Sheriff.\u201d (55 ILCS 5/3 \u2014 7008 (West 1992).) This, defendants suggest, authorizes the sheriff to unilaterally discharge plaintiff because, since plaintiff was never certified, he remains a \"temporary\u201d or probationary employee. This reasoning finds support in O\u2019Grady v. Cook County Sheriff\u2019s Merit Board (1994), 260 Ill. App. 3d 529, 538, 632 N.E.2d 87, where the court found: \"The mere fact an employee may have worked and been compensated in a supervisory position does not automatically render his appointment valid. If he was appointed and/or promoted pursuant to an examination process which was illegal for failure to comply with the Merit Act, his appointment will be considered invalid despite the fact that he was able to work and earn the salary for a position which ostensibly was merit-protected.\u201d We agree that mere length of time in service does not waive the requirement for certification. If plaintiff was never certified, the sheriff could unilaterally discharge him because of his \"illegal,\u201d never certified, appointment. However, as we have noted, neither side, particularly defendants, is able to conclusively demonstrate whether or not plaintiff was ever certified.\nPlaintiff, alternatively, focuses this court\u2019s attention on section 3 \u2014 7012, which provides that no deputy sheriff \"shall be removed, demoted or suspended except for cause, upon written charges filed with the Board by the Sheriff and a hearing before the Board thereon upon not less than 10 days\u2019 notice.\u201d (55 ILCS 5/3 \u2014 7012 (West 1992).) Plaintiff argues that this section controls the dispute and therefore the sheriff\u2019s act of unilateral discharge was improper. A sheriff\u2019s failure to comply with the procedural rules of a merit commission raises a jurisdictional issue that renders his actions void. (Fruhling v. County of Champaign (1981), 95 Ill. App. 3d 409, 417, 420 N.E.2d 1066.) While a cogent argument, section 3 \u2014 7012 must be read in conjunction with the sections governing proper certification and appointment. If plaintiff was never certified, he falls outside the ambit of section 3 \u2014 7012\u2019s procedural safeguards since the Act clearly requires the sheriff to appoint only from Board-certified candidates. Moreover, if we accepted plaintiff\u2019s analysis of section 3 \u2014 7012, every discharge would require a Merit Board hearing. We reject this notion.\nIn answering the question posed earlier as to which body or tribunal is the appropriate fact finder where certification is uncertain, the Act implies an answer to this question. Section 3 \u2014 7015 provides: \"The Board shall investigate the enforcement of this Division and its rules, and the conduct and action of the appointees herein provided for. In the course of such investigation each member of the Board is empowered to administer oaths, and the Board has the power to secure by subpoena both the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books and papers relevant to such investigations.\u201d 55 ILCS 5/3 \u2014 7015 (West 1992).\nDespite the clear language of this section, defendants argue it is inapplicable in the present action because (1) the Board has \"no power to review the Sheriff\u2019s illegal acts\u201d; and (2) \"the Merit Act has no express statutory provision from which a power can be implied authorizing the Merit Board to conduct disciplinary hearings for non-merit employees hired outside the provisions of the statute.\u201d We reject defendants\u2019 arguments.\nAlthough the language of section 3 \u2014 7015 does not expressly authorize the Merit Board to void illegal certifications or appointments, this provision clearly contemplates that the terms of the Act are to be enforced by the Board and specifically requires that the Board investigate the enforcement of the Act and its rules. (O\u2019Grady, 260 Ill. App. 3d at 535.) The O\u2019Grady court held that \"when the statutory mandates are not adhered to, the Merit Board has the authority to void certifications and corresponding appointments of individuals to merit-protected positions.\u201d O\u2019Grady, 260 Ill. App. 3d at 536.\nWe would follow the holding of O\u2019Grady and extend it, in what seems to us a logical progression, to conclude that when there is a legitimate question or dispute as to whether the \"statutory mandates\u201d have been adhered to, the Board, in the exercise of its investigative powers, should make the necessary determinations through a hearing pursuant to section 3 \u2014 7012.\nWe recognize that our holding places an initial burden upon the sheriff to decide whether the deputy has been properly certified, whether the certification is flawed or whether the deputy is a \"temporary.\u201d If the sheriff concludes the deputy has been certified and is a nonprobationary employee, the Act requires him to prove the justification of dismissal by a preponderance of the evidence. (55 ILCS 5/3 \u2014 7012 (West 1992).) If there is a question as to the validity or propriety of certification, the sheriff must go to the Merit Board to allow it to determine the bona fides of certification, the sheriff having the burden to show that the deputy has not been certified. If neither of these conditions is present, the sheriff may discharge the deputy without a hearing. However, in that event, if the deputy can show evidence of certification, the deputy may petition the Merit Board for review of the evidence of his certification and, as to these proceedings, the deputy has the burden to prove proper certification.\nAs we have noted above, in the case at bar, the sheriff has some evidence of certification and should go to the Board to obtain a decision as to plaintiff\u2019s certification.\nFor the reasons set forth above, we affirm the decision of the trial court granting plaintiff\u2019s motions for summary judgment and writ of mandamus and direct the Merit Board to determine the validity of plaintiff\u2019s certification.\nAffirmed.\nRIZZI, P.J., and CERDA, J., concur.", "type": "majority", "author": "JUSTICE GREIMAN" } ], "attorneys": [ "Jack O\u2019Malley, State\u2019s Attorney, of Chicago (Patricia M. Shymanski, John J. Murphy, and Sophia Lopez, Assistant State\u2019s Attorneys, of counsel), for appellants.", "Law Offices of Joseph V. Roddy, of Chicago (Joseph V. Roddy, of counsel), for appellee." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "JOHN VANKO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MICHAEL F. SHEAHAN, Sheriff of Cook County, et al., Defendants-Appellants.\nFirst District (3rd Division)\nNo. 1 \u2014 95 \u2014 1117\nOpinion filed February 21, 1996.\nJack O\u2019Malley, State\u2019s Attorney, of Chicago (Patricia M. Shymanski, John J. Murphy, and Sophia Lopez, Assistant State\u2019s Attorneys, of counsel), for appellants.\nLaw Offices of Joseph V. Roddy, of Chicago (Joseph V. Roddy, of counsel), for appellee." }, "file_name": "0302-01", "first_page_order": 320, "last_page_order": 324 }