Hanna v. The City of Chicago

              SIXTH DIVISION
April 25, 2008
No. 1-06-3348
ALBERT C. HANNA,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
THE CITY OF CHICAGO, a Municipal Corporation,
Defendant-Appellee.
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Appeal from
the Circuit Court
of Cook County
03 CH 05933
Honorable
David R. Donnersberger,
Judge Presiding
PRESIDING JUSTICE McBRIDE delivered the opinion of the court:
In 1999, Albert C. Hanna sued the City of Chicago, complaining that real property he
owned in the Lincoln Central neighborhood was unconstitutionally downzoned from R5 to SD-
19 by the city council’s amendment of the municipal zoning ordinance. Although the circuit
court dismissed Hanna’s first amended complaint for failure to state a claim and failure to give
notice to all property owners within 250 feet of the property, we reversed the ruling in part and
remanded the cause in mid 2002 for further proceedings. Hanna v. City of Chicago, 331 Ill. App.
3d 295 (2002), appeal denied, 201 Ill. 2d 566 (2002). On remand, Hanna twice stated in written
opposition to motions filed by the City that the “ultimate” and “effective” relief he was seeking
was reversion to the R5 category, or its current equivalent, RM5. In 2006, the city council
rezoned Hanna’s neighborhood to RM5 and the circuit court dismissed his action as moot.
Hanna argues his action is not moot or should be addressed under the public interest exception to
the mootness doctrine.
The following facts come from our prior opinion and the record currently on appeal. The