People Ex Rel. Newdelman v. Weaver

Lorelei Newdelman, Mary Daniels, Pearleane Oden, Victoria B. Figures, Yvonne Marshall, and Annie Mae Weeden brought an action
in the circuit court of Cook County for a writ of mandamus to compel the director of the Illinois Department of Public Aid
(whom we shall call the Illinois Director) to promulgate a regulation authorizing the Director of the Cook County Department
of Public Aid (the Cook County director) to grant one month rent security deposits to welfare recipients in accordance with
section 12-4.11 of the Illinois Public Aid Code. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1967, ch. 23, par. 12-4.11.) That section provides in part:
"If recipients can obtain adequate shelter only if a security deposit is given the landlord, the Department may furnish one
month's rent as a security deposit. This provision shall be operative only to the extent that Federal participation in program
costs is not adversely affected by such programs, and does not foster the granting of duplicate assistance." In a second count,
they sought a declaratory judgment on the ground that the quoted portion of the statute requires the Illinois Director to
allow security deposits when the described statutory conditions appear. The plaintiff Lorelei Newdelman is not a recipient of public aid, and brought the action as a taxpayer-resident. The other
plaintiffs are public aid recipients. These plaintiffs, as an alternative to mandamus and declaratory relief, in a third count
asked under the Administrative Review Act for administrative review of the refusal of the Cook County director to allow them
rent security deposits. William H. Robinson, the director of the Cook County Department of Public Aid, was also named as a
defendant in the three counts, and it was requested that he be directed to provide the rent security deposits.