Village of Pawnee v. Johnson

Village of Pawnee v. Johnson, 103 Ill. 2d 411, 418, 469 N.E.2d 1365, 83 Ill. Dec. 219 (1984) involved municipalities that sought reimbursement for wrongfully withheld interest. In Village of Pawnee, municipalities sought reimbursement of interest income that had accrued on tax receipts collected, invested and distributed by the Department of Revenue pursuant to statute. The supreme court held that the municipalities were entitled to the interest income which had been segregated from the general fund, but they could not recover funds which had already been placed in the general revenue fund because it would amount to an impermissible judgment against the State. Village of Pawnee, 103 Ill. 2d at 422. The supreme court ruled that the State is required to pay interest to the local governments on the MROT tax proceeds held by the State prior to distribution after November 3, 1983. In Village of Pawnee, the court stated that interest on proceeds collected prior to November 3, 1983, could not be ordered reimbursed, as "any recovery by the municipalities would then have to be derived from the General Revenue Fund of the State. Such relief would clearly amount to an impermissible money judgment against the State." 103 Ill. 2d 411, 422, 469 N.E.2d 1365.