People Ex Rel. Rappaport v. Drazek

332 N.E.2d 532, 30 Ill. App. 3d 310, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2611
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 24, 1975
Docket60156
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 332 N.E.2d 532 (People Ex Rel. Rappaport v. Drazek) 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
People Ex Rel. Rappaport v. Drazek, 332 N.E.2d 532, 30 Ill. App. 3d 310, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2611 (Ill. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE STAMOS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Petitioner, Carl Rappaport, brought an action in the circuit court of Cook County, seeking the issuance of a writ of mandamus to compel respondents, Alan A. Drazek, Director of Personnel of the State of Illinois, and John M. Linton, Administrator of the Bureau of Employment Security (Bureau) to appoint petitioner to the position of Accountant V in the Bureau, or alternatively, to appoint an individual from a Civil Service Register dated December 10, 1970. 1 Respondents filed a motion for summary judgment, with attached affidavits. Petitioner replied to respondents’ motion with counteraffidavits. Thereafter, petitioner was granted leave to file an amended petition for issuance of a writ of mandamus. Respondents replied to the amended petition with another motion for summary judgment, again attaching affidavits. Petitioner did not respond to this subsequent motion, apparently relying on his earlier counteraffidavits. The trial court, after hearing arguments on this subsequent motion, granted summary judgment in favor of respondents. This appeal follows.

The only issue presented on appeal is whether the trial court was correct in concluding that the pleadings, affidavits and exhibits presented no genuine issue as to any material fact, and that as a matter of law, petitioner had failed to establish an unqualified right to the writ of mandamus.

Petitioner was an employee of the Bureau, classified as an Accountant IV. On December 10, 1970, a Civil Service Register of persons eligible for promotion to the position of Accountant V was posted. The December 10 register, which was to remain in effect for 2 years, did not assign each individual a separate numerical rating. Rather, the December 10 register placed the applicants in ranked groups. Petitioner and eight others were placed in the highest group.

On December 31, 1970, Walter Polinski, classified as an Accountant V, retired from the Bureau. However, Polinski did not cease working for the Bureau that day, but instead, on January 4, 1971, pursuant to section 14 — 125 of the Illinois Pension Code, accepted temporary employment as an Accountant V for 75 additional working days. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1969, ch. 108%, par. 14 — 125.) Polinski worked all 75 days, finishing on April 15, 1971.

By affidavit, petitioner stated that for a period of 2 to 3 weeks during the additional 75 days that Polinski was temporarily employed, Polinski trained petitioner under the assumption that petitioner would succeed Polinski. In an exhibit submitted by petitioner, it was alleged that several procedural steps were taken within the Bureau to finalize the promotion of petitioner to Accountant V.

Subsequently, however, respondent Linton, Administrator of the Bureau, concluded that the December 10 register of eligibles did not reflect all those persons qualified as Accountant V and that the knowledge of Polinski’s retirement would encourage others to participate in an examination. Consequently, he requested that another Accountant V examination be offered. Respondent Drazek, Director of Personnel, agreed and another examination was held.

On March 9, 1971, a new register of persons eligible for promotion to Accountant V was issued. Again, that register did not rank each individual separately, but placed the applicants in ranked groups. This time, the highest ranked group, of which petitioner was again a member, consisted of 22 individuals.

On April 1, 1971, on the recommendation of respondents, an individual, other than petitioner, listed on March 9, but not listed on December 10, was promoted to Accountant V.

In his amended complaint, petitioner alleged that since February 6, 1971, pursuant to Administrative Bulletin No. 622, he has requested his supervisors and the Administrator of the Bureau for the reasons why he was not selected for promotion, but that, to date, he has not been afforded a response.

Petitioner later requested and was granted a grievance hearing. After a review of the applicable statutes and rules, the grievance panel concluded that they could not question the Administrator’s authority to call for another examination. However, despite that finding, they recommended that consideration be given to whether the second examination violated the “intent” of the Personnel Code. They further concluded that based on their understanding of the intent of the Personnel Code, a selection to fill the Accountant V vacancy should have been made from the December 10 register, and that based on the recommendations of his supervisors, petitioner should have been selected. In response to the panel’s recommendations, respondent Drazek stated that the Administrator of the Bureau could have properly concluded that the December 10 register was unrepresentative of the interest of many of the employees of the Bureau who might be qualified for the position of Accountant V. To thus provide a more representative register, a new examination was offered and new names were added to the list. Respondent Drazek concluded that the Personnel Code allows the supplementing of current eligible lists. As such, the Administrator of the Bureau could properly ask for another examination. He found the procedures followed to be proper and denied the grievance.

The circuit court entered summary judgment in favor of respondents and denied petitioner’s request for a writ of mandamus. That order is now before us.

The purpose of a summary judgment procedure is to determine whether a genuine and material dispute of fact exists. (Wilson v. Illinois Bell Telephone Co., 19 Ill.App.3d 47, 310 N.E.2d 729.) Summary judgment should be allowed if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to the judgment as a matter of law. (Greenwood v. Leu’s IGA Food Liner, 14 Ill.App.3d 11, 302 N.E.2d 359.) Where the record presents purely questions of law, the trial court may properly enter summary judgment. Reconstruction Finance Corp. v. Lucius, 320 Ill.App. 57, 49 N.E.2d 852.

In the instant case, the facts are, in all material respects, undisputed. As petitioner admits in his brief filed in this court, this case will turn on the construction given to certain provisions of the Personnel Code and certain rules of the Department of Personnel. As such, pure questions of law were presented to the trial court and consequently, summary judgment was the proper procedure.

Petitioner requested a writ of mandamus, Mandamus is not a writ of right; rather, it is an extraordinary remedy and the party seeking the writ must show a clear legal right to the relief requested. (Ganley v. City of Chicago, 18 Ill.App.3d 248, 309 N.E.2d 653.) Mandamus commands the officer or body to whom it is directed to perform some specific duty which petitioner is entitled, of right, to have performed and which the party owing the duty has failed to perform. (People ex rel.

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Bluebook (online)
332 N.E.2d 532, 30 Ill. App. 3d 310, 1975 Ill. App. LEXIS 2611, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-rappaport-v-drazek-illappct-1975.