UNDERSTANDING EMINENT DOMAIN

www.condemnation-law.com This site, put together by Biersdorf & Associates, answers many of the legal questions raised by property owners, in or near governmental redevelopment areas.

"As the timetable for the government's project progresses, you will be required to make decisions about your property. Your rights will be affected. Make sure that you become informed!"

Eminent domain abuses place small businesses at a greater risk of being seized since they cannot produce the volume of new jobs and property tax revenue that large corporations can promise. We can’t stand quietly and watch as governments take the property of small- or medium-sized businesses in order to hand it over for large, corporate development. Illinois is not alone in recognizing the problem, it is a national epidemic

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Illinois: Senate OKs measure to restrict eminent domain

Indiana Enacts Common Sense Eminent Domain Reform

Four More States React to Kelo (Indiana, West Virgina, Wisconsin, Kentucky)

Virginia: Land-seizure bills advance

South Carolina: 'Shield' for property owners; Bill would restrict eminent domain

The fact is, without legislation like SB 3086, no small-business owner or even homeowner can be assured that his or her property won’t fall victim to an eminent domain seizure in a TIF District if a company, or developer, that can promise higher tax revenue and more jobs, sets its sights on the area.

We were led to believe our own village was in favor of other options for redevelopment as our Combined Boards met on October 13, 2005 at the Richmond IL Village Hall for the purpose of hearing a presentation "Lets Talk Growth" presented by James Willey, Mayor of Elburn, Illinois and sponsored by the Sustainable Watershed Action Team (read meeting minutes). What has changed our villages' point of view? Perhaps it was a meeting at a local coffee shop between village board members, a state official and developers.

With a TIF District in place, the Village of Richmond IL can acquire your land and/or business and/or residence at a reduced rate - because now you're in a "blighted" area, and sell, or in some cases outright give it to a large developer or corporation who has sold them on a "better idea" for that land.

Too bad for free enterprise, and too bad if you don't want to give up your land. You have no say in the matter, you have no voice. And, for those left behind, should this all not pan out like they hoped, there will be an assessment to pay the bills. And you should not be surprised to find out that once again, you won't be able to say No. It is not the win/win situation that the original TIF structuring set out to do, it is one more example of the little guys paying the way for the big guys.

The politics of land grabbing

Neighborhood Capital Budget Group
TIF and Eminent Domain other areas of this site have a lot more information about TIF as well!

Illinois Municipal League iml.org

Legal Q + A

Castle Coalition castlecoalition.org

Kelo v. City of New London: What it Means and the Need for Real Eminent Domain Reform

Government Theft: The Top 10 Abuses of Eminent Domain

Eminent Domain Close to Home

The following information was found at the Castle Coalition web site. The Castle Coalition is the Institute for Justice's nationwide grassroots property rights activism project. They help home and small business owners protect themselves and stand up to the greedy governments and developers who seek to take private property for their own gain.

Visit The Castle Coalition to find complete bibliographies and much more about eminent domain.

Fox Lake, Illinois
Property owners Rita Shah and George Kurian brought their fight against eminent domain abuse to the courts of law and public opinion and won. Village officials, eager to keep Ray Chevrolet and its sales tax in town, attempted to seize one acre of private property to turn it over to the car dealership for parking. Lake County Judge Margaret Mullen said, it is abundantly clear to this court, based upon all the evidence, that the taking was motivated solely by the village's desire to give incentive to Ray Chevrolet to remain in Fox Lake. Use of eminent domain for this purpose would exceed the village's authority.

Lake Zurich, Illinois
City officials have been eyeing property on Lake Zurich’s luminous glacial lake for retail stores and new residences, and in the wake of Kelo v. New London, have proceeded to condemn four homes and a restaurant. Nearby property owners like Suzanne Branding, who owns a bed and breakfast with her husband, worry that their land will be next.

Geneva, Illinois
After 11 months of negotiation with Elizabeth Safanda, whose property houses her husband’s law firm, Geneva alderman took a surprising stance and voted 10-1 not to use eminent domain to seize her property for a strip mall and a grocery store. The proposed development project now remains in question.

Des Plaines, Illinois - Elmer's
Walgreens wanted to open a new store in Des Plaines, but without the hassle of finding land and purchasing it from willing sellers. So Walgreens enlisted the help of the Des Plaines Board of Aldermen, which used its eminent domain powers to bully two businesses and one homeowner off their properties. Elmer’s Goodyear, a local service station, had operated in Des Plaines for 55 years. After the City threatened to condemn Elmer’s if it refused to sell out, the service station’s owner reached an agreement conveying title to the land to the City.1 In January 2002, the City authorized eminent domain to take the two other targeted properties, the Des Plaines Glass Co. and the home of Irene Angell.2 Ms. Angell, who was born in this same house over 80 years ago, ironically had met her late husband in a Walgreens store. Ms. Angell eventually settled with the City.

Menomonee Falls, Wisc.

Property owners in downtown Menomonee Falls have been notified that their land could be seized for a redevelopment project. Even though a concrete plan for the redevelopment doesn't exist yet, 80 parcels of land are at risk of eminent domain. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the City's ability to condemn property for economic gain was made easier by the Supreme Court's Kelo ruling.

West Allis, Wisc.

West Allis officials want to revitalize the West Allis Towne Center, a shopping mall. If the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the homeowners in Kelo, officials may not have been able to use eminent domain to claim the mall, West Allis development director John Stibal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Visit The Castle Coalition to find complete bibliographies and more.

Article: Condemn-Nation  This land was your land, but now it's my land.

Article/Blog: Has the Court "erased the Public Use Clause from our Constitution"?