Full Text of SB1717 99th General Assembly
SB1717enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SB1717 Enrolled | | LRB099 07543 MGM 27666 b |
|
| 1 | | AN ACT concerning the Prairie Wind Trail.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Prairie Wind Trail Property Transfer Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Legislative statement. Between the years of 1991 | 7 | | and 2002, the Department of Natural Resources expended $408,085 | 8 | | to acquire 281.502 acres of real property, in the counties of | 9 | | Coles, Douglas and Moultrie, with the intention of constructing | 10 | | a recreational trail for use by the general public. The | 11 | | intended recreational trail was not constructed because the | 12 | | Department of Natural Resources was not able to acquire a | 13 | | contiguous linear parcel of real property sufficient to | 14 | | construct an uninterrupted recreational trail. | 15 | | Between the years of 1995 and 2011, the Department of | 16 | | Natural Resources transferred 47.777 acres of real property to | 17 | | several private and public entities. These transfers were | 18 | | completed in accordance with Public Acts 88-369, 89-29, 89-223, | 19 | | 90-760, 91-824, and 96-316.
| 20 | | Between 1991 and 2013, the Department of Natural Resources | 21 | | expended $207,425.89 in legal defense expenses associated with | 22 | | the process of acquiring and holding title to the real property | 23 | | constituting the planned Prairie Wind Trail. (See Hemingway v. |
| | | SB1717 Enrolled | - 2 - | LRB099 07543 MGM 27666 b |
|
| 1 | | American Premium Underwriters, Inc., 97-MR-5, Sixth Circuit, | 2 | | Douglas County, Illinois and Ag Farms, Inc. v. American Premium | 3 | | Underwriters, Inc., 2002-MR-6, Sixth Circuit, Moultrie County, | 4 | | Illinois.) | 5 | | The General Assembly finds that transferring the real | 6 | | property known as the Prairie Wind Trail to adjacent owners is | 7 | | a public benefit to avoid further expenditure of legal defense | 8 | | expenses.
| 9 | | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
| 10 | | "Adjacent owner" means an owner of real property with a | 11 | | common boundary to parcels comprising the planned Prairie Wind | 12 | | Trail owned by the Department of Natural Resources. | 13 | | "Department" means the Department of Natural Resources of | 14 | | the State of Illinois. | 15 | | "Prairie Wind Trail" means real property in the counties of | 16 | | Coles, Douglas and Moultrie that is owned by the Department of | 17 | | Natural Resources and was acquired between the years of 1991 | 18 | | and 2002 with the intention of constructing a recreational | 19 | | trail for use by the general public. | 20 | | Section 15. Authority to convey real estate. The Department | 21 | | may transfer and convey all or part of the real estate acquired | 22 | | for the Prairie Wind Trail as provided in this Act. In order to | 23 | | facilitate the transfers authorized by this Act, the Secretary | 24 | | of State shall establish a repository for the deeds, surveys, |
| | | SB1717 Enrolled | - 3 - | LRB099 07543 MGM 27666 b |
|
| 1 | | and related materials for each parcel within the Secretary of | 2 | | State Index Department. | 3 | | Section 20. Transfer process. | 4 | | (a) Notwithstanding any provision of the State Property | 5 | | Control Act, an adjacent owner may request the transfer of a | 6 | | limited portion of the Prairie Wind Trail in accordance with | 7 | | this Act. If an adjacent owner desires transfer of a portion of | 8 | | the Prairie Wind Trail, the adjacent owner shall provide notice | 9 | | to the Department, accompanied by the following: | 10 | | (1) a title search proving ownership or a certified | 11 | | copy of the recorded deed for the adjacent real property; | 12 | | (2) a copy of the most recent real property tax | 13 | | assessment for the adjacent real property; and | 14 | | (3) a notarized affidavit executed by the owner of the | 15 | | adjacent real property affirming current ownership of the | 16 | | adjacent real property. | 17 | | (b) The real estate transferred to an adjacent owner | 18 | | pursuant to this Act may not extend beyond an area encompassed | 19 | | by: | 20 | | (1) the common property boundary;
| 21 | | (2) the center line of the Prairie Wind Trail; and
| 22 | | (3) lines extending from the boundary of the common | 23 | | boundary of the real estate to the center line of the | 24 | | Prairie Wind Trail.
| 25 | | (c) Upon receipt of notice, the Department shall determine |
| | | SB1717 Enrolled | - 4 - | LRB099 07543 MGM 27666 b |
|
| 1 | | whether the adjacent owner has demonstrated ownership of the | 2 | | real estate with a common boundary to the Prairie Wind Trail | 3 | | and compliance with subsection (a) of this Section. | 4 | | (d) If the adjacent owner demonstrates ownership of the | 5 | | real estate with a common boundary to the Prairie Wind Trail | 6 | | and compliance with subsection (a) of this Section, the | 7 | | Department shall notify the adjacent owner and schedule a real | 8 | | estate closing at a mutually agreeable time and place. The | 9 | | adjacent owner is responsible to pay all filing fees, taxes, | 10 | | and costs associated with closing the real estate transaction. | 11 | | (e) If a person does not demonstrate ownership of the real | 12 | | estate with a common boundary to the Prairie Wind Trail or | 13 | | compliance with subsection (a) of this Section, the Department | 14 | | shall reject the request to transfer any portion of the Prairie | 15 | | Wind Trail to that person. | 16 | | (f) If the Department receives a request to transfer any | 17 | | portion of the Prairie Wind Trail that is the subject of any | 18 | | pending action filed in any federal or State court, that | 19 | | requested portion of the Prairie Wind Trail may not be | 20 | | transferred by the Department until a final judgment is | 21 | | rendered in the pending action. | 22 | | (g) In the case of 2 or more parties claiming ownership of | 23 | | all or the same adjacent property, the Department shall not | 24 | | transfer any property of the requested portion of the Prairie | 25 | | Wind Trail until an agreed-upon settlement between the | 26 | | conflicting parties is made or until a final judgment is made |
| | | SB1717 Enrolled | - 5 - | LRB099 07543 MGM 27666 b |
|
| 1 | | in any action related to the adjacent property in a court of | 2 | | competent jurisdiction. | 3 | | (h) Upon a final judgment in favor of the requesting party | 4 | | or dismissal of all lawsuits concerning real estate for which a | 5 | | transfer has been requested, the Department shall transfer that | 6 | | real estate, provided that it meets the other requirements of | 7 | | this Act. | 8 | | Section 25. Time limitations. The Department shall begin | 9 | | accepting requests to transfer portions of the Prairie Wind | 10 | | Trail on the effective date of this Act. The Department shall | 11 | | not accept any request received more than 2 years after the | 12 | | effective date of this Act. During this time period, the | 13 | | Department shall hold a public hearing in the counties of | 14 | | Moultrie and Douglas regarding the transfer of portions of the | 15 | | Prairie Wind Trail. The hearing shall provide an opportunity | 16 | | for adjacent owners to petition the Department. Notice shall be | 17 | | given by public advertisement in a newspaper in general | 18 | | circulation in the Prairie Wind Trail area. The notice shall | 19 | | provide the date, time, and location of the public hearings and | 20 | | provide information regarding the transfer of real property. | 21 | | Section 30. Review. Any determinations required by this Act | 22 | | and any actions to transfer real estate are within the sole | 23 | | discretion of the Department and are not subject to judicial or | 24 | | administrative review.
|
| | | SB1717 Enrolled | - 6 - | LRB099 07543 MGM 27666 b |
|
| 1 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 2 | | becoming law. |
|