Taylor v. Dart, 64 N.E.3d 123

Percy Taylor, a Cook County sheriff’s police officer, faced termination after Sheriff Dart filed misconduct charges on October 20, 2011; the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board issued a termination decision on October 30, 2013.
John R. Rosales was appointed to the Merit Board in June 2011 to fill a seat whose term expired March 19, 2012; Rosales was not reappointed after that date but continued to serve and presided at Taylor’s February 27, 2013 hearing.
Taylor sought administrative review; the circuit court initially affirmed the Merit Board’s termination, but on reconsideration found Rosales’s appointment invalid because it was for less than the six-year term required by 55 ILCS 5/3-7002 and vacated the Board’s decision.
The circuit court certified two Rule 308 questions: (1) whether a Merit Board member appointed to a term shorter than six years was lawfully appointed when presiding over Taylor’s hearing; and (2) if not, whether the October 30, 2013 decision remains valid or is void.
The appellate court considered statutory construction principles, quorum rules, and precedent addressing improperly appointed administrative decisionmakers and whether resulting agency actions are void or voidable.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether section 3-7002 permits appointment of a Merit Board member to a term shorter than six years	Rosales’s appointment to a term ending March 19, 2012 violated the statute because members must be appointed to six-year terms	Sheriff Dart may appoint for shorter/unexpired terms (or such power is implied) and home-rule authority permits interim appointments	No — statute’s "shall" requires six-year terms; statute contains no explicit or implied authority for shorter appointments
Whether a Merit Board decision made with participation of an unlawfully appointed member is valid or void	Taylor: decision is void because the Board lacked statutory authority to include Rosales	Defendants: decision should remain valid or be treated as voidable; de facto officer doctrine or ratification cures defect	Void — decision was rendered by an illegally constituted Board and must be vacated and remanded for a hearing before a lawfully constituted Board

Vuagniaux v. Department of Professional Regulation, 208 Ill. 2d 173 (Illinois Supreme Court) (an agency decision is invalid when a participating member’s appointment was unauthorized by statute)
Daniels v. Industrial Comm’n, 201 Ill. 2d 160 (Illinois Supreme Court) (vacated commission decisions where vacancies were not filled in accordance with statute to preserve statutory balance)
Gilchrist v. Human Rights Comm’n, 312 Ill. App. 3d 597 (Ill. App. Ct.) (administrative body only has power conferred by statute; acts beyond that are void)
Peabody Coal Co. v. Industrial Comm’n, 349 Ill. App. 3d 1023 (Ill. App. Ct.) (distinguishes void vs. voidable outcomes for improperly appointed commissioners; de facto officer doctrine may apply when issue not timely raised)
Newkirk v. Bigard, 109 Ill. 2d 28 (Illinois Supreme Court) (statutory use of "shall" is ordinarily mandatory)