Basketfield v. Police Board of Chicago

Appellee, Lieutenant William Basketfield, filed a complaint for administrative review in the circuit court of Cook County (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1969, ch. 110, par. 264 et seq.) seeking to set aside a decision of the Police Board of the City of Chicago, appellant herein, which had ordered that he be discharged from the police department. The circuit court reversed this decision and ordered that appellee be reinstated solely because the administrative findings were contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence. The appellate court affirmed, one judge dissenting (6 Ill. App.3d 370), and we granted leave to appeal. The principal issue presented concerns the permissible scope of evidentiary review in these proceedings. After a hearing appellant issued its decision finding that Basketfield had violated certain departmental rules. It concluded that he had committed an unlawful act by obtaining control over a quantity of lost or mislaid tires and, although he knew or could have known of the owner, he failed to reasonably act to return the tires, with the intent to deprive the owner of them; that he committed acts of official misconduct for the reasons heretofore specified; that he conspired with two other police officers to retain unauthorized control of the tires for their personal benefit; that he failed to comply with the provisions of General Order 67-21, when alleged misconduct by members of his command was brought to his attention; that he failed to comply with the order of a superior officer to conduct an investigation into alleged misconduct; that he gave false information in an official report on November 4, 1967; and that he failed to report the alleged unlawful conduct of members of his command to his superiors.