Cribbin v. City of Chicago

              SIXTH DIVISION
August 15, 2008
No. 1-06-1671
ANTHONY CRIBBIN, PETER ) Appeal from the
KOULOGEORGE, and DONNA ) Circuit Court of
KOULOGEORGE, ) Cook County, Illinois.
)
Plaintiffs-Appellees, )
)
v. ) No. 04 CH 07217
)
THE CITY OF CHICAGO, RICHARD )
RODRIGUEZ, Executive Director, City of )
Chicago Department of Construction and ) Honorable
Permits, and UNKNOWN OTHERS, ) Thomas P. Quinn
) Judge Presiding.
Defendants-Appellants. )
JUSTICE JOSEPH GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:
Land developers Anthony Cribbin and Peter Koulogeorge purchased property in Chicago
with the intent of constructing apartment buildings on the property and then selling it at a profit.
After they had owned the property for several years and incurred various expenditures in pursuit
of their plans, the City of Chicago (City) rezoned the property, such that the planned construction
was no longer allowed. Cribbin and Peter Koulogeorge then filed an action against the City,
seeking a ruling that as a result of their past expenditures, they had acquired vested rights to the
previous zoning classification and should be issued building permits based on that previous
classification. Following a bench trial, the trial court entered judgment for Cribbin and Peter
Koulogeorge and ordered the City to issue the requested permits. The City now appeals. For the
reasons that follow, we affirm.
I. BACKGROUND