Leong v. Village of Schaumburg

550 N.E.2d 1073, 194 Ill. App. 3d 60, 141 Ill. Dec. 27, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 37
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 16, 1990
Docket1-89-0721
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 550 N.E.2d 1073 (Leong v. Village of Schaumburg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leong v. Village of Schaumburg, 550 N.E.2d 1073, 194 Ill. App. 3d 60, 141 Ill. Dec. 27, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 37 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE DiVITO

delivered the opinion of the court:

In this appeal of the order of the circuit court pursuant to administrative review, plaintiff Charles S. Leong, d/b/a Leong’s Restaurant, challenges the revocation of his liquor license. The issues raised are: (1) whether the decision of the local liquor commissioner was against the manifest weight of the evidence or contrary to law; (2) whether the finding that plaintiff had been convicted of a crime opposed to decency and morality was contrary to law; (3) whether the Village of Schaumburg (the Village) waived its right to revoke plaintiffs 1988 liquor license; and (4) whether plaintiff received a full, fair, and impartial hearing.

Since 1970, plaintiff has held a liquor license, issued by the Village, for the sale of alcoholic beverages at Leong’s Restaurant. On March 19, 1982, a search warrant was executed in plaintiff’s restaurant by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and evidence of gambling was recovered. In April 1982, Kenneth Alley, then a lieutenant in charge of criminal investigation for the Schaumburg police department, warned plaintiff that he had crossed the line in dealing with organized crime and that he had to cease any gambling operations or jeopardize his license and his livelihood. The undisputed evidence, however, was that from 1982 until mid-1986, plaintiff permitted his restaurant to be used for gambling.

On February 26, 1987, a Federal grand jury indictment was returned against plaintiff. On July 2, 1987, he pleaded guilty to the felony offense of participating in the operation of an illegal gambling business which had gross revenues of at least $2,000 on any single day and continued in operation for more than 30 days, in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 1955 (1988). He also pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of failing to pay a special occupational tax, in violation of 26 U.S.C. section 7203 (1982). On August 25, 1987, the United States District Court placed plaintiff on probation for five years and imposed a $5,000 fine for the latter offense. The sentence on the felony charge was suspended. Plaintiff paid the fine and has complied with the conditions of probation.

In December 1987, after the Village provided plaintiff a liquor license renewal form which was duly signed and returned with the appropriate fee, plaintiff was issued a liquor license for calendar year 1988.

On May 25, 1988, A1 Larson, the Village president and local liquor commissioner (the commissioner), advised plaintiff by letter that, pursuant to State laws (see Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 43, pars. 120(4), (11)), his liquor license for 1988 was null and void. After police officers physically removed the liquor license from his premises, plaintiff obtained a temporary restraining order enjoining the Village and the commissioner from revoking his liquor license. On June 21, 1988, a permanent injunction, which enjoined the revocation of plaintiff’s license without a hearing, was issued.

On June 22, 1988, the commissioner issued a notice that a hearing would be held on June 30, 1988. The notice informed plaintiff that he was not eligible for a liquor license under section 120(4) of the Liquor Control Act of 1934 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 43, par. 120(4)) and that he was disqualified from holding a liquor license in the Village under the Village code. Village of Schaumburg, Ill., Municipal Code §§3— 24(b), (f), (g), (h).

A public hearing was held on June 30, July 7 and July 11, 1988, during which the Village presented evidence of the 1982 search, the conversation between plaintiff and Lt. Alley, and the gambling convictions. Plaintiff testified in his own behalf and presented 18 character witnesses, who testified concerning his reputation and rehabilitation. Additionally, plaintiff introduced a petition containing 301 signatures attesting to his good reputation in the community and to the belief that he was an asset in the Village.

On July 21, 1988, the commissioner revoked plaintiffs liquor license, finding: that plaintiff had been convicted of a felony and had not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 43, par. 120(4)); that plaintiff was not of good character and reputation in the community in which he resided (Village of Schaumburg, Ill., Municipal Code §3 — 24(b)); and that plaintiff had been convicted of a crime opposed to morality (Village of Schaum-burg, Ill., Municipal Code §3 — 24(f)). The remaining charges were not proved. On November 3, 1988, the Illinois Liquor Control Commission affirmed the revocation and found that the commissioner’s order was supported by the findings and that the findings were supported by substantial evidence. A subsequent petition for rehearing was denied.

Plaintiff filed a complaint for administrative review in the circuit court of Cook County. On March 14, 1989, the court affirmed the decision of the commissioner and the State Commission. Plaintiff appeals that decision.

I

Plaintiff contends that the decision of the commissioner was against the manifest weight of the evidence and contrary to law because the commissioner’s findings of fact were not supported by the evidence. In support of his contention, plaintiff argues that: (a) the commissioner failed to conduct an investigation of plaintiff’s rehabilitation pursuant to the mandate of Illinois law; (b) the finding that plaintiff was not sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust was arbitrary, an abuse of discretion, and against the manifest weight of the evidence; and (c) the finding that plaintiff was not of good character and of good reputation in his community was arbitrary, an abuse of discretion, and against the manifest weight of the evidence.

In an administrative review proceeding, the circuit court and the appellate court are limited to a consideration of the record to determine whether the findings and orders of the commissioner are against the manifest weight of the evidence, and whether the commissioner acted arbitrarily and without cause or in clear abuse of his discretion. (Spiros Lounge, Inc. v. Illinois Liquor Control Comm’n (1981), 98 Ill. App. 3d 280, 284, 423 N.E.2d 1366.) The findings and conclusions of the administrative agency on questions of fact are accepted as prima facie true and correct (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 110, par. 3 — 110), and courts have generally held that it is not the function of either the circuit court or the appellate court to reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of the witnesses. Murdy v. Edgar (1984), 103 Ill. 2d 384, 469 N.E.2d 1085; Crazy Horse, Inc. v. Byrne (1981), 97 Ill. App. 3d 434, 422 N.E.2d 1074.

In order to find that an agency’s findings are contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence, the reviewing court must determine that an opposite conclusion was clearly evident from the record. (Spiros Lounge, Inc. v.

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Bluebook (online)
550 N.E.2d 1073, 194 Ill. App. 3d 60, 141 Ill. Dec. 27, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 37, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leong-v-village-of-schaumburg-illappct-1990.