The grant or denial of a declaratory judgment is a matter of the court's discretion, and the declaratory judgment will not be disturbed unless the record shows an abuse of discretion. Nussbaum Trucking Co. v. Conley, 236 Ill. App.3d 809, 811, 602 N.E.2d 982, 983 (1992). "In cases involving declaratory judgment actions, the trial court's exercise of discretion is not given the same deference as in other proceedings, and the appellate court is given a greater latitude in reviewing a declaratory judgment issued by a trial court."
The decision of the trial court to grant or deny declaratory relief is within its sound discretion and will not be disturbed on review absent an abuse of that discretion. Nussbaum Trucking Co. v. Conley, 236 Ill. App.3d 809, 811, 602 N.E.2d 982, 983 (1992). The definition of "public body" is very similar in the Act and the FOIA.
In conclusion, we find that the parties' contracts do not provide any explicit and unambiguous limit on the number of pylon signs allowed at the shopping center. Given that conclusion, plus the general rule of construction that weighs against imposition of a limitation on the free use of property, where the use in question is not explicitly prohibited (see Lake Barrington, 196 Ill. App.3d at 283), we find that the trial court's order of declaratory relief favoring McDonald's and against the Developer was an abuse of its discretion (see Nussbaum Trucking Co. v. Conley (1992), 236 Ill. App.3d 809, 811). We find that although the Declaration reveals an unambiguous intent by the parties to insure the fulfillment of their earlier agreements regarding two pylon signs, it does not eliminate the possibility of additional pylon signs — although it provides McDonald's a right to timely expression of reasonable objections.