(735 ILCS 30/10‑5‑15) (was 735 ILCS 5/7‑102.1)
Sec. 10‑5‑15. State agency proceedings; information.
(a) This Section applies only to the State and its agencies, and only to matters arising after December 31, 1991.
(b) Before any State agency initiates any proceeding under this Act, the agency must designate and provide for an appropriate person to respond to requests arising from the notifications required under this Section. The designated person may be an employee of the agency itself or an employee of any other appropriate State agency. The designated person shall respond to property owners' questions about the authority and procedures of the State agency in acquiring property by condemnation and about the property owner's general rights under those procedures. However, the designated person shall not provide property owners with specific legal advice or specific legal referrals.
(c) At the time of first contact with a property owner, whether in person or by letter, the State agency shall advise the property owner, in writing, of the following:
(1) A description of the property that the agency
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(2) The name, address, and telephone number of the |
| State official designated under subsection (b) to answer the property owner's questions. | |
(3) The identity of the State agency attempting to |
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(4) The general purpose of the proposed acquisition.
(5) The type of facility to be constructed on the |
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(d) At least 60 days before filing a petition with any court to initiate a proceeding under this Act, a State agency shall send a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner of the property to be taken, giving the property owner the following information:
(1) The amount of compensation for the taking of the |
| property proposed by the agency and the basis for computing it. | |
(2) A statement that the agency continues to seek a |
| negotiated agreement with the property owner. | |
(3) A statement that, in the absence of a negotiated |
| agreement, it is the intention of the agency to initiate a court proceeding under this Act. | |
The State agency shall maintain a record of the letters sent in compliance with this Section for at least one year.
(e) Any duty imposed on a State agency by this Section may be assumed by the Office of the Attorney General, the Capital Development Board, or any other agency of State government that is assisting or acting on behalf of the State agency in the matter.
(Source: P.A. 94‑1055, eff. 1‑1‑07.) |
(735 ILCS 30/10‑5‑60) (was 735 ILCS 5/7‑121)
Sec. 10‑5‑60. Value. Except as to property designated as possessing a special use, the fair cash market value of property in a proceeding in eminent domain shall be the amount of money that a purchaser, willing, but not obligated, to buy the property, would pay to an owner willing, but not obliged, to sell in a voluntary sale.
For the acquisition or damaging of property under the O'Hare Modernization Act, the amount shall be determined as of the date of filing the complaint to condemn. For the acquisition of other property, the amount shall be determined and ascertained as of the date of filing the complaint to condemn, except that:
(i) in the case of property not being acquired under
| Article 20 (quick‑take), if the trial commences more than 2 years after the date of filing the complaint to condemn, the court may, in the interest of justice and equity, declare a valuation date no sooner than the date of filing the complaint to condemn and no later than the date of commencement of the trial; and | |
(ii) in the case of property that is being acquired |
| under Article 20 (quick‑take), if the trial commences more than 2 years after the date of filing the complaint to condemn, the court may, in the interest of justice and equity, declare a valuation date no sooner than the date of filing the complaint to condemn and no later than the date on which the condemning authority took title to the property. | |
In the condemnation of property for a public improvement, there shall be excluded from the fair cash market value of the property any appreciation in value proximately caused by the improvement and any depreciation in value proximately caused by the improvement. However, such appreciation or depreciation shall not be excluded when property is condemned for a separate project conceived independently of and subsequent to the original project.
(Source: P.A. 94‑1055, eff. 1‑1‑07.) |
(735 ILCS 30/10‑5‑110)
Sec. 10‑5‑110. Offers of settlement by defendant; attorney's fees and litigation expenses.
(a) This Section applies only to proceedings for the acquisition of property for private ownership or control that are subject to subsection (c), (d), (e), or (f) of Section 5‑5‑5.
(b) At any time between (i) the close of discovery in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 218(c), as now or hereafter amended, or another date set by the court or agreed to by the parties, and (ii) 14 days before the commencement of trial to determine final just compensation, any defendant may serve upon the plaintiff a written offer setting forth the amount of compensation that the defendant will accept for the taking of that defendant's interest in the property. If the defendant does not make such an offer, the defendant shall not be entitled to the attorney's fees and other reimbursement provided under subsection (e) of this Section.
(c) If, within 10 days after service of the offer, the plaintiff serves written notice upon that defendant that the offer is accepted, then either of those parties may file a copy of the offer and a copy of the notice of acceptance together with proof of service of the notice. The court shall then enter judgment.
(d) An offer that is not accepted within the 10‑day period is deemed to be withdrawn and evidence of the offer is not admissible at trial.
(e) If a plaintiff does not accept an offer as provided in subsection (c) and if the final just compensation for the defendant's interest is determined by the trier of fact to be equal to or in excess of the amount of the defendant's last written offer under subsection (b), then the court must order the plaintiff to pay to the defendant that defendant's attorney's fees as calculated under subsection (f) of this Section. The plaintiff shall also pay to the defendant that defendant's reasonable costs and litigation expenses, including, without limitation, expert witness and appraisal fees, incurred after the making of the defendant's last written offer under subsection (b).
(f) Any award of attorney's fees under this Section shall
| be based solely on the net benefit achieved for the property owner, except that the court may also consider any non‑monetary benefits obtained for the property owner through the efforts of the attorney to the extent that the non‑monetary benefits are specifically identified by the court and can be quantified by the court with a reasonable degree of certainty. "Net benefit" means the difference, exclusive of interest, between the final judgment or settlement and the last written offer made by the condemning authority before the filing date of the condemnation complaint. The award shall be calculated as follows, subject to the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct: | |
(1) 33% of the net benefit if the net benefit is |
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(2) 25% of the net benefit if the net benefit is more |
| than $250,000 but less than $1 million; or | |
(3) 20% of the net benefit if the net benefit is $1 |
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(g) This Section does not apply to the acquisition of |
| property under the O'Hare Modernization Act. | |
(Source: P.A. 94‑1055, eff. 1‑1‑07.) |