Bugle Newspapers 6-23-22

JU ne 22, 20 2 2 Vol . 6 6 I ssU e 37

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news from plainfield Joliet shorewood lockport crest Hill bolingbrook romeoville downers grove Westmont Woodridge lisle niles morton grove park ridge & more

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sTaTe

state supreme court declines to rule on FoId act for second time

by Jerry noWIcKI

capITol neWs IllInoIs In a 4-3 decision with a blistering dissent from the Republican minority, the Illinois Supreme Court declined to rule on a question of whether Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Act is unconstitutional.

It was the second time the case of the People v. Vivian Brown came before the court and the second time the court declined to rule on the constitutionality of the state statute requiring Illinoisans to receive a permit to legally own a gun.

The majority opinion released Thursday was written by Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and was procedural in nature. It contended that the White County Circuit Court failed to adhere to the Supreme Court’s previous 2020 ruling in the case, so it once again vacated the lower court’s ruling that the FOID Act was unconstitutional.

Burke was joined in the majority

by Democrats Mary Jane Theis, P. Scott Neville Jr. and Robert Carter.

Justice Michael Burke – who is not related to the chief justice – wrote the dissent, making up 11 of the 21 pages in the Thursday order.

He argued the majority decision was “based on a misunderstanding of the record and a misreading of this court’s precedents,” and that it could keep the defendant in “legal limbo” for an untold period of years.

The case involves a White County resident, Vivian Claudine Brown, who was charged in March 2017 with possession of a firearm without a FOID card after police responded to her estranged husband’s call that she had fired a gun in her home.

Police found the rifle but no evidence that she fired it. Nonetheless, she was charged with the crime.

But a circuit judge in White County threw out the charge, ruling that the fees and forms required to receive a FOID imposed an unconstitutional burden on Brown’s Second Amendment right to keep a firearm in her own home.

But it was an alternative ruling made by the same court without prompting from Brown’s legal team that allowed the state’s high court to decline to rule on the constitutional grounds.

That alternative ruling contended that the Illinois General Assembly, when it passed the FOID Act, never meant for it to apply in the home, because if it did, it would mean anybody with knowledge of a firearm and exclusive control over the area where it was kept could be construed as possessing the gun.

As a general rule, courts decline to rule on constitutional matters when a case can be decided on other grounds.

Because the circuit court ruled on an aspect of the FOID Act pertaining to state law, the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision vacated the order pertaining to constitutionality and sent the matter back to White County to “permit the normal appellate process to run its course.”

The ruling was essentially a win for Brown, but her legal team contended it wouldn’t stand up to an appeal. Thus, Brown’s attorneys filed a motion to reconsider, arguing that the inevitable loss on appeal would delay clarity in the case.

The circuit court agreed and re-

instated the charges. Brown’s attorneys then filed a new motion to dismiss on constitutional grounds, which the judge upheld, finding that “any fee associated with exercising the core fundamental Constitutional right of armed self-defense within theconfines of one’s home violates the Second Amendment.”

Thus, the state appealed the ruling back to the Supreme Court, leading to the Thursday ruling in which the majority decided the lower court had no authority to reconsider the case after the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling.

“When a cause is ‘remanded by the reviewing court with instructions to the circuit court to enter a specific order, the reviewing court’s judgment is, with respect to the merits, ‘the end of the case,’

and there is ‘nothing which the circuit court [is] authorized to do but enter the decree,’’” the court wrote, quoting other case law.

If the lower court were allowed to make changes to the Supreme Court’s ruling, the majority wrote, it would set a precedent “upending our hierarchical judicial system.”

The dissent from Michael Burke, however, argued that the majority asserted finality of its ruling while also suggesting that the proper place for review is now an appellate court, which is itself a lower court.

“In reality, the judgment of the circuit court was not a judgment of this court that was final and conclusive on all the parties because this court declined to reach the merits of the statutory analysis and only vacated the circuit court’s

judgment on procedural grounds,” Michael Burke wrote in the dissent. “Accordingly, the trial court was free to reconsider the merits of that ruling, and nothing about it doing so upends our hierarchical judicial system.”

Michael Burke argued that the majority’s supposition that Brown received “complete relief” when the circuit court vacated her charges was faulty, because the legal reasoning backing that decision is unlikely to hold up upon appeal.

Thus, he predicted, the case will ultimately end up back at the Supreme Court on the constitutional basis, only after a significant delay to Brown’s detriment as the case moves through the appellate court.

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cooK coUnTy

morris Theatre guild announces cast for summer musical, don t Hug me Morris Theatre Guild is pleased to announce the cast of its summer musical, Don’t Hug Me, book and lyrics by Phil Olson, music by Paul Olson.

It’s Fargo meets The Music Man (without the blood or the trombones). Director Matt Johnson predicts, “With its over-the-top songs and crazy characters, this Minnesota love story with singin’ and stuff will have you laughing until the spring thaw.”

Don’t Hug Me takes place in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota. Cantankerous bar owner, Gunner Johnson, played by Darren Whaley of Newark, wants to sell the business and move to Florida.

Clara, his wife, and former Winter Carnival Bunyan Queen, played by Jen Ketchum of Sandwich, wants to stay.

Bernice Lundstrom, the pretty

waitress, played by Stephanie Griffin of Watseka, wants to pursue a singing career.

Her fiancé, Kanute Gunderson, played by Brian Pross of Yorkville, wants her to stay home. It’s a battle of wills, and when a fast-talking salesman, Aarvid Gisselsen, played by Lhito Camson of Elgin, promises to bring romance into their lives through the “magic” of karaoke, all heck breaks loose!

Show dates are July 15-17 and 22-24 at Morris Theatre Guild, 516 W. Illinois Avenue in Morris.

Tickets are available at morristheatreguild.org or by calling 815942-1966.

With summer heating up, visiting the cooler climate of Minnesota might be just the refreshing break needed.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

cast members stephanie griffin, Jen Ketchum, darren Whaley, brian pross, and lhito camson are rehearsing for mTg s don t Hug me, which runs July 15-17 and 22-24.

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obITUary WHeeler Florence P. “Pat” Wheeler (nee Kane), age 93, a resident of Plainfield, IL since 1940, passed away on Thursday, June 16, 2022, at Ascension Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, IL. She was born February 5, 1929, in Chicago, IL. Beloved mother of Murley (Ann) Wheeler, III of Jupiter, FL, the late Tim (Bobbie) Wheeler, Bob Wheeler of Plainfield, Maureen Wheeler of Plainfield, Pat (the late James) Mander of Plainfield, Kathleen (Bob) Hammack of Plainfield, Paul Wheeler of Plainfield, Eileen (Mike) Miller of Channahon, IL and

Sheila (Rich) Forneris of Austin, TX, adored grandmother of Julie Wheeler and Erin (Niall) Canavan; Patrick Wheeler and Mollie Wheeler; Bo Wheeler, Pete (Ashlee) Wheeler, Anna ( Julian) Huttunen, Stephen (Erin) Wheeler and Katy Wheeler; Brad (Yvonne) Wheeler, John (Oksana) Schultz and Cale (Szilvia) Schultz; Nick (Kendall) Mander, Josh (Carrie) Mander, Jenn (Brian) Freiberg, and Luke Mander; Elaine (Paul) Van Buskirk and Kaitlyn (Nick) Paler; Tim, Matt and Victoria Wheeler; Bret Schauer, Karli (Mike) Pazely and Claire Miller; Rachael WheelerBrown (Stephanie), Samantha Nakis (Alex) and Tess Forneris

(Gabriela); cherished greatgrandmother of James; Nathan, Ally and Morgan; Madison, Liam and Jackson; Logan and Sofiemarie; Alania and Feliks; Avery, Angelina and Santino; Connor, Lyla and Nolan; Wyatt; Collins and Margot; Olivia, Weston and Juliette; Helena and Brennus, Jackson and Nickolas, devoted daughter of the late Robert and Elizabeth (nee Youngblood) Kane, dear sister of the late Margaret (the late Lee) Widup, fond aunt, great-aunt, great-greataunt and friend of many. Former spouse of the late Murley J. Wheeler, Jr. Pat grew up on Chicago’s South Side, attended Little Flower

Grammar School and moved with her family to Plainfield at the age of 14. She was a 1947 graduate of St. Francis Academy in Joliet and received a bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Francis in Joliet and a master’s degree from Illinois State University at Normal.

Pat taught for many years at Grand Prairie Elementary School, Joliet, IL in Plainfield School District 202. After her retirement she continued to work as a Reading Recovery teacher.

Pat was a longtime member of St. Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Plainfield and enjoyed singing as a past member of the choir.

LEGAL NOTICEv

LEGAL NOTICEv

Certificate No. 34530 was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of WILL COUNTY on JUNE 6, 2022 wherein the business firm of SECOND CHANCE TECHTRONICS Located at 625 Briarcliff Rd, Bolingbrook, IL 60440 was registered; that the true or real name or names of the person or persons owning the business, with their respective address(es), is/are as follows: Kevin M Kujawa 625 Briarcliff Rd Bolingbrook, IL 60440 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and Official Seal at my office in Joliet, Illinois. this 6th day of JUNE, 2022 Lauren Staley-Ferry County Clerk Published in the Bugle 6/16/22, 6/23/22, 6/30/22

Certificate No. 34523 was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of WILL COUNTY on MAY 31, 2022 wherein the business firm of INSPIRE BASEBALL CARDS Located at 3211 Austin Court, Naperville, IL 60564 was registered; that the true or real name or names of the person or persons owning the business, with their respective address(es), is/are as follows: Brian Froderman 3211 Austin Court Naperville, IL 60564 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and Official Seal at my office in Joliet, Illinois. this 31st day of MAY, 2022 Lauren Staley-Ferry County Clerk Published in the Bugle 6/8/22, 6/15/22, 6/22/22

Visitation will be held Sunday, June 26, 2022, 1:00-5:00 PM at Overman-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 15219 S. Joliet Rd., Plainfield, IL. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, June 27, 10:30 AM at St. Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, 15629 S. Route 59, Plainfield.

Interment will follow at St. Mary Immaculate Cemetery, Plainfield.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Pat’s memory may be made to: St. Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, 15629 S. Route 59, Plainfield, IL 60544, (815) 436-2651, https://smip. org/ or Eternal Word Television Network, Inc. (EWTN), 5817 Old Leeds Road, Irondale, AL 35210, (800) 447-EWTN, https://www.ewtn.com/ For more information, please visit www.overman-jones.com or call (815) 436-9221.

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