NCPA - Daily Policy Digest - A Victory For Property Rights in Illinois

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A Victory For Property Rights in Illinois

In the most important case in years to curb local government use of eminent domain powers, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down a local authority's condemnation of a metal-recycling plant's property to make way for a race-track parking lot.

The court said the use of condemnation in economic-development cases should be closely scrutinized in light of constitutional requirements that government takings serve a "public use."

The majority opinion in the 5-2 decision warned that eminent domain be exercised "with restraint, not abandon."

The case -- which had been closely watched by both economic development officials and property-rights advocates -- is the latest in a string of legal actions in which state and federal courts have blocked or delayed government condemnations.

Just last month, a Connecticut state judge permanently blocked the condemnation of 11 homes and a business on the grounds that the city of New London and a nonprofit group given condemnation powers weren't explicit enough in stating what they intended to do with the land once they took it.

The economic-development agency in the Illinois case is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Source: Dean Starkman, "Illinois High Court Ruling Curbs Use of Eminent Domain Power," Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2002.

For WSJ text (subscribers)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1017959498689751200-deanstarkman,00.html

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http://www.ncpa.org/iss/sta

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