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

── Colatorti v. Republican Legislative Committee for the Twenty-Sixth Legislative District ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: April 17, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (2d) 250230 No. 2-25-0230 Opinion filed April 17, 2026 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS SECOND DISTRICT BRITTANY COLATORTI, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. REPUBLICAN LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE FOR THE TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT and DARBY HILLS, Defendants-Appellees. Appeal from the Circuit Court of McHenry County. Honorable Kevin G. Costello, Judge, Presiding. No. 25-MR-46 JUSTICE BIRKETT delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice Kennedy and Justice McLaren concurred in the judgment and opinion. OPINION ¶1 Plaintiff, Brittany Colatorti, appeals an order of the circuit court of McHenry County granting the motions of defendants, Republican Legislative Committee for the Twenty-Sixth Legislative District (the Committee) and Darby Hills, to dismiss with prejudice plaintiff’s first amended complaint for declaratory judgment. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. ¶2 I. BACKGROUND ¶3 On February 18, 2025, plaintiff filed a two-count verified complaint for declaratory judgment against defendants. ¶4 The complaint alleged the following facts. In late January 2025, Dan McConchie, state senator for the Twenty-Sixth Legislative District, announced his resignation as senator, effective February 2, 2025. Thereafter, Keith Brin, the Republican county chairman for Lake County, scheduled a meeting for February 14, 2025, with the chairpersons of McHenry County, Kane County, Palatine Township, and Barrington Township for the purpose of creating the Committee and appointing McConchie’s replacement. Four citizens, including Hills, submitted applications for the vacancy. On February 14, 2025, the Committee voted to appoint Hills as McConchie’s replacement. According to the complaint, as of its filing, Hills had not yet been sworn into office. ¶5 Count I of the complaint alleged that, prior to holding the meeting to fill the vacancy, the Committee failed to provide public notice as required under section 25-6(a) of the Election Code (see 10 ILCS 5/25-6(a) (West 2022)). According to the complaint, plaintiff was qualified to apply for consideration as an appointee and, thus, had been entitled to notice. Plaintiff asked the trial court to declare that (1) the Committee was required to give statutory notice before appointing McConchie’s replacement, (2) the Committee failed to provide the requisite notice, and (3) the Committee’s act of appointing Hills was ultra vires for failing to prove such notice. ¶6 Count II of the complaint alleged that the Committee also disregarded the statutory requirement that “[t]he appointee shall be a member of the same political party as the person he succeeds was at the time of his election.” See id. According to the complaint, upon information and belief, Hills was not a member of the Republican Party, in that she did not meet any of the qualifying requirements set forth at section 25-6(c) of the Election Code (id. § 25-6(c)). Plaintiff alleged that had she applied to replace McConchie, she would have satisfied the qualifying requirements, given that she had voted in a Republican primary in the past 23 months. Plaintiff asked the trial court to declare that (1) Hills did not meet any of the qualifying requirements, (2) Hills was not qualified to replace McConchie, and (3) the Committee’s act of appointing Hills was ultra vires. -2- ¶7 On February 19, 2025, plaintiff filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining o