In the News

Daily Herald, July 29, 2006

SPRINGFIELD — Local governments were put on notice Friday that they have just a few months before new state laws make it harder for them to force the sale of homes and property to make way for development.

Inspired by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that raised the ire of private property advocates nationwide, state lawmakers this spring passed new restrictions on eminent domain laws governing governments’ ability to seize land in the name of economic growth. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the changes into law Friday, but they do not take effect until Jan. 1.

Exempted from the restrictions is the O’Hare International Airport expansion plan that will require Chicago to take suburban land.

Supporters cheered the new law, saying it gives newfound protection to homeowners.

“It is crucial that we have clear and transparent laws to protect property owners,” Lake Forest state Sen. Susan Garrett said in a statement. Garrett, a Democrat, was one of the chief sponsors of the new law. “Now property owners will fully understand their rights.”

Spurring the new Illinois law, and similar efforts in state capitols across the country, was a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the justices said it was OK for a Connecticut city to force a woman to sell her home to make way for a pharmaceutical company’s research facility.

Highlights of the new Illinois law include:

•Imposing tougher legal standard for proving the land needs to be seized by the government.

•Reimbursing property owners for relocation expenses and, in some cases, legal fees in addition to being paid for the property. Current law only requires owners get fair market value for their land and be compensated for any reduction in value to surrounding property.

•Allowing courts to update property values if a trial date lingers, meaning the owner is likely to get more if and when the government takes the land.

“This law goes further than anything we’ve ever done to protect the rights of property owners while making sure that important public projects can still move forward,” Blagojevich said in a statement announcing his action.

An official at the Illinois Municipal League said local governments consider the new regulations “livable” but questioned if they were needed. Larry Frang, Illinois Municipal League assistant director, pointed out Illinois already had laws stricter than those involved in the Connecticut case.

“We just didn’t believe it was necessary to make changes,” Frang said.

Existing projects are not subject to the new laws. But any expansion of those projects will face the same stricter guidelines as new projects beginning in 2007.