Citations
- 46 Ill. App. 3d 23
Full opinion text
Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE DIERINGER
delivered the opinion of the court:
The plaintiff, Charles Lawrie, is a mentally retarded adult who resides at Beverly Farm, Godfrey, Madison County, Illinois. Plaintiff first applied for public aid on April 6, 1972, to pay for support at Beverly Farm. The application was denied by the Madison County Department of Public Aid on April 26, 1972. The reason given for the denial of aid is that Beverly Farm refused to promise to accept the payment of the Department as payment in full, as required by the Department’s regulation (Topic 5556.3) which prohibits supplementation of public assistance. Plaintiff appealed the denial of his application by notice to the Department of Public Aid, on June 23, 1972. A hearing was held, and on October 20, 1972, the Department informed the plaintiff his appeal had been denied. Plaintiff then filed a complaint under the Administrative Review Act. After briefs and hearings, the Circuit Court of Cook County, on April 9, 1975, entered an order reversing the decision of the Department, and holding the Department’s policy of “no supplementation” null and void as not authorized by the Public Aid Code and violative of the Equal Protection Clauses of the United States Constitution and the Illinois Constitution. From this order the defendant, the Department of Public Aid, brings this appeal.
The issues are whether the Public Aid Department’s regulation prohibiting supplementation is contrary to Illinois statutory law and whether such policy denies the plaintiff equal protection of the law, as provided for in the State and Federal constitutions. The issues do not include problems of evidence. The facts in this case, as presented above, are undisputed and are not in question.
In order to better understand the issues it is necessary to set out some portions of the Illinois Public Aid Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1971, ch. 23).
The “Public Purpose” section of the Public Aid Code provides, inter alia:
“The purpose of this Code is to assist in the alleviation and prevention of poverty and thereby to protect and promote the health and welfare of all the people of this State.