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People ex rel Director of the Dep't of Corrections v. Booth9/2/2004
PUBLISHED
The plaintiff, the Director of the Department of Corrections (DOC), sued the defendant, Lonnie Booth, an inmate in the DOC, to recover the costs of the defendant's incarceration. The circuit court judge entered an order for summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff for $40,656.89 plus costs, but held that section 12--1001(h)(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/12--1001(h)(4) (West 2002)) exempted $7,500 from the award. The plaintiff appeals, contending that the exemption should not apply in this case. We affirm.
The defendant was incarcerated in April 2001. In May 2001, he received a settlement from personal injury litigation in the amount of $41,715.57 after attorney fees and costs.
In January 2003, the plaintiff filed suit against the defendant, seeking to recover $40,656.89 as reimbursement for the cost of the defendant's incarceration. After the defendant failed to appear at a hearing on a motion for attachment, the circuit court entered an order in favor of the plaintiff for $40,656.89. In response, the defendant moved for declaratory judgment, contending that his settlement money was exempt under section 12--1001(h)(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure. The plaintiff moved for summary judgment, contending that no material facts were in dispute and that the plaintiff had a statutory right to reimbursement pursuant to section 3--7--6 of the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/3--7--6 (West 2002)).
The circuit court granted the plaintiff's motion and entered judgment for $40,656.89, but held that section 12--1001(h)(4) exempted $7,500 from the award. The plaintiff appeals, contending that section 3--7--6 does not provide for any exemptions to DOC suits for recovery of incarceration costs.
This case presents an issue of statutory construction. When construing a statute, we are to determine and give effect to the legislature's intent. People v. Robinson, 172 Ill. 2d 452, 667 N.E.2d 1305 (1996). In doing so, we look to the plain language of the statute; if the statute's plain meaning is clear and unambiguous, we are to apply the statute without using further tools of statutory construction. Robinson, 172 Ill. 2d 452, 667 N.E.2d 1305. Because statutory construction is a question of law, we review the circuit court's order de novo. Robinson, 172 Ill. 2d 452, 667 N.E.2d 1305.
Initially, we note that the defendant did not file an appellee's brief with this court. Generally, we will not act as an advocate for an appellee who fails to file a brief. See First Capitol Mortgage Corp. v. Talandis Construction Corp., 63 Ill. 2d 128, 345 N.E.2d 493 (1976). However, when a record is simple and the claimed error can easily be decided without the aid of an appellee's brief, we should decide the appeal's merits. First Capitol Mortgage Corp., 63 Ill. 2d 128, 345 N.E.2d 493. We believe we can decide the merits of this appeal without the aid of an appellee's brief.
Section 3--7--6(a) of the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/3--7--6(a) (West 2002)) provides that inmates shall be responsible to the DOC for the cost of their incarceration. Section 3--7--6(d) of the Unified Code of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/3--7--6(d) (West 2002)) provides that, upon authorization from the Director of the DOC, the Attorney General can institute proceedings to reach an inmate's assets in order to cover the cost of incarceration. Assets are defined as:
" ny property, tangible or intangible, real or personal, belonging to or due to a committed or formerly committed person including income or payments to the person from social security, worker's compensation, veteran's compensation, pension benefits, or from any other source w
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