City of Chicago Heights v. Living Word Outreach Full Gospel

196 Ill. 2d 1, 255 Ill. Dec. 434, 749 N.E.2d 916 (2001)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

City of Chicago Heights v. Living Word Outreach Full Gospel

Illinois Supreme Court
196 Ill. 2d 1, 255 Ill. Dec. 434, 749 N.E.2d 916 (2001)

  • Written by Tanya Munson, JD

Facts

In 1996, Living Word Outreach Full Gospel Church and Ministries, Inc. (Living Word) (defendant) submitted an application to the City of Chicago Heights (the city) (plaintiff) for a special-use permit to provide church services on its property. Living Word’s property was located on Lincoln Highway in a B-2, or limited-service business, zoning district. Under the city’s zoning ordinance, churches were listed as a special use in B-2 districts and could locate in a B-2 district by obtaining a special-use permit from the city. The city council denied Living Word’s application for a special-use permit based on the comprehensive plan adopted by the city in 1995. The comprehensive plan targeted Lincoln Highway for development as a commercial corridor. The city council was concerned that granting an application for a special-use permit for noncommercial use, like Living Word’s application, would conflict with the comprehensive plan. Despite the denial of the special-use permit, Living Word continued to hold church services at their Lincoln Highway property. The city filed a lawsuit in circuit court and sought to permanently enjoin the church from continuing its services. Living Word filed a counterclaim, alleging that, among other claims, the city council’s denial of Living Word’s permit was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable because the use of the property by Living Word met the standards of the city’s zoning code. A bench trial was held, and the city argued that because the city was suffering economic problems, permitting noncommercial use within the Lincoln Highway corridor would be detrimental to surrounding commercial properties. The trial court denied the city’s request for a permanent injunction and found that Living Word had met all applicable standards for a special-use permit. The trial court’s ruling was vacated for jurisdictional reasons by the appellate court. The appellate court found in favor of the city, and Living Word appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (McMorrow, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership