Colatorti v. Republican Legislative Committee for the Twenty-Sixth Legislative District

Summary

The Illinois Appellate Court, Second District, affirmed dismissal with prejudice of Brittany Colatorti’s declaratory judgment action challenging the appointment of Darby Hills to fill a state senate vacancy. The court held that, under section 25-6 of the Illinois Election Code, the appointee was required to be a member of the relevant political party when appointed, not when the vacancy was announced or occurred. The court also rejected the constitutional challenge to the statute and concluded that dismissal was proper under section 2-615, with additional section 2-619 arguments addressed in the opinion.

Holdings

1. Section 25-6(a) requires that the appointee be a member of the relevant political party when the appointment is made; it does not require party membership when the vacancy is publicly announced, when the vacancy occurs, or for any minimum period before appointment.
2. Dismissal under section 2-615 was proper because the complaint's claim rested on the legally incorrect premise that Hills had to qualify as a Republican before the February 28 appointment.
3. Section 25-6(a) does not conflict with article IV, section 2(d) of the Illinois Constitution because both require only that the appointee be a member of the same political party as the legislator succeeded, without imposing an earlier affiliation date.
4. The action did not present a nonjusticiable political question because it required judicial interpretation of a statute and could be resolved using judicially manageable standards.
5. Colatorti had standing to seek judicial interpretation of the statute governing Hills's appointment because her asserted right to representation was personal and the alleged injury was traceable to the appointment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether section 25-6(a) of the Illinois Election Code requires an appointee filling a legislative vacancy to have been a member of the relevant political party when the vacancy was announced, when it occurred, or before applying for appointment.
2. Whether the declaratory judgment complaint failed to state a claim because Hills was a member of the Republican Party when she was appointed on February 28, 2025.
3. Whether the action presented a nonjusticiable political question committed to the Illinois Senate.
4. Whether Colatorti had standing to challenge the statutory interpretation governing Hills's appointment.
5. Whether section 25-6(a) of the Election Code was unconstitutional because it did not require party affiliation before or contemporaneously with public announcement of the vacancy.
6. Whether section 25-6(c)'s 23-month political-party-affiliation rule violated the First Amendment.

Disposition

affirmed