Old Rock Island Courthouse saved — for now
Appellate court sides with preservationists led by Landmarks Illinois, orders county to follow state law
An Illinois appellate court has ordered local officials to follow state law on historic preservation if they want to demolish the old Rock Island County Courthouse. (Facebook/Landmarks Illinois)
By Ted Cox
A state appellate court stepped in to block any imminent demolition of the old Rock Island County Courthouse Thursday, issuing a ruling that compels local agencies to follow Illinois law calling for public input on the preservation of historic buildings.
The old courthouse, built in 1896 by Frederick Gunn and Louis Curtis and considered “a significant example of Spanish Renaissance or Roman-style architecture,” according to a suit filed by preservationists, was replaced by a new courthouse in late 2018, and Rock Island County and its Public Building Commission moved immediately to raze it, spurred by the county’s Chief Judge Walter Braud.
Preservationists led by Landmarks Illinois and including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Rock Island Preservation Society, the Moline Preservation Society, the Broadway Historic District Association, and local residents Fred Shaw and Diane Oestreich filed suit to block demolition, charging in part that the local agencies were not following requirements to seek other uses for the property under the Illinois State Historic Resources Preservation Act.
Local courts dismissed the suit, but the preservationists appealed and won a restraining order. On Thursday, the Third District Appellate Court of Illinois ruled the old courthouse eligible for protection under the “plain and unambiguous language” of the state preservation act, while also emphasizing that protectionists had standing to file the suit.
“Landmarks Illinois is pleased the appellate court determined that the county must follow state preservation law, affirming the public’s right to be consulted on the future of their courthouse,” said Bonnie McDonald, the organization’s president. “We stand ready to be a voluntary resource to the county to find a preservation solution benefitting the people of Rock Island County, which we believe is available and feasible.”
“Landmarks Illinois is pleased the appellate court determined that the county must follow state preservation law, affirming the public’s right to be consulted on the future of their courthouse.”
Landmarks Illinois President Bonnie McDonald (One Illinois/Ted Cox)
The ruling doesn’t preserve the courthouse, but compels local agencies to follow the preservation act in consulting the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and exploring other uses for the building and other considerations on its historic value. The court ruled, “It is significant that the plaintiffs are seeking only injunctive relief, not tort damages.” It also took issue with how Braud issued an initial administrative order authorizing demolition “without notice, without conducting a hearing, and without affording any party the opportunity to present evidence or legal argument.”
Local agencies tried to argue they weren’t subject to the state preservation act because they’re not part of state government, but the appellate court ruled unequivocally: “Chief Judge Braud’s administrative order cannot prevent the application of the Preservation Act’s requirements to the proposed demolition of the courthouse in this case.”
Rock Island County had tried to grease the wheels for demolition as long back as 2013, but a local referendum rejected razing the building by a 61 percent majority. Landmarks Illinois placed the building on its annual list of the state’s “Most Endangered Public Places” in 2017, and it remained there in the latest update last year.
After the new courthouse was constructed nearby and opened in 2018, plans for demolition were snarled when the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency denied a stormwater permit, insisting IDNR had to be consulted. IDNR, in fact, declared the building a “historic resource” and went on to file an amicus brief in support of the suit.
That figures to continue to provide a significant roadblock for demolition going forward.
Wheaton, named the best place to live in Illinois by Money magazine last year, has preserved its old DuPage County Courthouse as what is now the center of a vital condominium development.