Dusthimer v. The Board of Tustees of the University of Illinois

              NO. 4-05-1034 Filed 10/27/06
IN THE APPELLATE COURT
OF ILLINOIS
FOURTH DISTRICT
JACK E. DUSTHIMER, KATHY DUSTHIMER, and
BRANDT DUSTHIMER,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY
OF ILLINOIS,
Defendant-Appellee.
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Appeal from
Circuit Court of
Champaign County
No. 04MR446
Honorable
Charles McRae Leonhard,
Judge Presiding.
JUSTICE APPLETON delivered the opinion of the court:
The plaintiffs are Jack and Kathy Dusthimer and their son Brandt. The defendant
is the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Jack and Kathy are helping pay Brandt's
tuition at the university. (For clarity and ease of reference, we will use first names when
referring to the plaintiffs individually.) Tuition would be cheaper if Brandt were a resident of
Illinois. The university, however, has refused to classify him as a resident. Plaintiffs challenged
the university's decision by filing a complaint for administrative review, which, with leave of the
circuit court, they repleaded as an amended complaint for a writ of certiorari. After oral
arguments, the court entered judgment in the board's favor. Plaintiffs appeal, arguing the
university is violating its own regulation defining who is a "resident."
We find no ambiguity in the regulation. In plain language, it defines a "resident"
to include the dependent of someone employed at least a quarter of the time as a faculty member
of a "state-supported institution[] of higher education in Illinois." University of Illinois