Major Property Rights Victory: Illinois Supreme Court Stops Eminent Domain Abuse by Maureen Blum |
Washington, D.C.-In a landmark ruling issued today, the Illinois Supreme Court struck
down an attempt by the government to use eminent domain to take property from one
private owner to increase the profits of his neighbor and the tax revenues generated from
them. The Southwestern Illinois Development Authority (SWIDA) condemned land
owned by National City Environmental to give the property to the Gateway racetrack next
door for additional parking.
"All property owners in Illinois should rejoice at this ruling," said Scott Bullock, senior
attorney at the Institute for Justice, which filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of the
property owner. "The Founders demanded in our Constitution that there be limits on the
condemnation power. Property can be taken only for a 'public use,' and a public use
cannot be defined as merely increasing the revenues for a private business. The
Supreme Court today vindicated fundamental constitutional rights."
The project started when SWIDA advertised that it would condemn land for "economic
development." On the form to be filled out, the applicant could check "public use" or
"private use." For "private use" condemnations, SWIDA charged a commission,
amounting to about six percent of the value. Gateway had attempted to purchase the
land from National City (an auto scrap yard and an environmentally sound landfill), but
National City did not want to sell. So Gateway asked SWIDA to take it through eminent
domain instead. In court, Gateway admitted that it could build a parking structure on its
own property but that the construction would have been more expensive than using the
power of government and paying its $50,000 commission to SWIDA.
In analyzing the government's arguments, the Court stated, "While we do not deny that
this expansion in revenue could potentially trickle down and bring corresponding revenue
increases to the region, revenue expansion alone does not justify an improper and
unacceptable expansion of the eminent domain power of the government. Using the
power of the government for purely private purposes to allow Gateway to avoid the open
real estate market and expand its facilities in a more cost-efficient manner, and thus
maximizing corporate profits, is a misuse of the power entrusted by the public."
Almost exactly one year ago (on April 19,2001), the Illinois high court originally upheld the
condemnation in a sharply divided 4-3 opinion, but granted a rehearing to the property
owner, leading to today's decision.
The Institute for Justice is currently fighting other battles across the country against the
taking of private properties by the governments for the pure economic benefit of private
parties. These include cases in metropolitan New York; New London, Connecticut; and
Canton, Mississippi. In February, the Institute launched the Castle Coalition
http://www.castlecoalition.org, a nationwide network of community activists and property
owners dedicated to stopping eminent domain abuse wherever it occurs. The Coalition
spotlighted the Illinois property rights case in a publication issued last month titled,
Government Theft: The Top 10 Abuses of Eminent Domain, 1998-2002.
Maureen Blum
Institute for Justice
Director of Outreach Programs
PHONE: 202-955-1300
FAX: 202-955-1329
EMAIL: mblum@ij.org
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