The Citizens National Bank of Paris v. Kids Hope United, Inc.

              NO. 4-08-0162 Filed 11/21/08
IN THE APPELLATE COURT
OF ILLINOIS
FOURTH DISTRICT
THE CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK OF PARIS as ) Appeal from
Trustee of the La Fern L. Blackman ) Circuit Court of
Trust; as Trustee of the Ettoile Davis ) Edgar County
Trust; as Trustee of the Ruth Cook ) No. 06CH59
Memorial Fund; and as Trustee of the )
Gladys Stratton Trust; and THE EDGAR )
COUNTY BANK & TRUST COMPANY OF PARIS, )
ILLINOIS, as Trustee of the Samuel R. )
Smith Trust, )
Plaintiffs-Appellees, )
v. )
KIDS HOPE UNITED, INC., an Illinois Not- ) Honorable
for-Profit-Corporation, ) James R. Glenn,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.
_________________________________________________________________
JUSTICE COOK delivered the opinion of the court:
In the 1960s, grantors La Fern L. Blackman and Ettoile
Davis each executed a trust that benefitted the Edgar County
Children's Home (the Home). The Blackman trust stated that the
Home would continue to receive income from the trust until the
Home "ceased to operate or exist." The Davis trust stated that
the Home would continue to receive income from the trust until
the Home ceased to function in its "present capacity." In 2003,
the Home merged with defendants, Hudelson Children's Home and
Family Services (Hudelson), now named Kids Hope United, Inc.
(Kids Hope). In 2006, plaintiffs and trustee, Citizens National
Bank of Paris (the Bank), filed a petition for instructions,
seeking a determination that the gifts to the Home lapsed because