The quantum meruit claim Restore Construction pursued against Proviso Township’s high school board of education for work under a contract that failed to comply with the school code’s bidding and formal approval requirements presented an exquisite clash of fundamental principles and provided Illinois Supreme Court Justices Lloyd A. Karmeier and Rita B. Garman with rich sets of precedent for their majority and dissenting opinions on the validity of the board’s affirmative defense.The board contracted with …