735 ILCS 30/20-5-5

(735 ILCS 30/20-5-5) (was 735 ILCS 5/7-103)

Sec. 20-5-5. Quick-take.

(a) This Section applies only to proceedings under this Article that are authorized in this Article and in Article 25 of this Act.

(b) In a proceeding subject to this Section, the plaintiff, at any time after the complaint has been filed and before judgment is entered in the proceeding, may file a written motion requesting that, immediately or at some specified later date, the plaintiff either: (i) be vested with the fee simple title (or such lesser estate, interest, or easement, as may be required) to the real property, or a specified portion of that property, which is the subject of the proceeding, and be authorized to take possession of and use the property; or (ii) only be authorized to take possession of and to use the property, if possession and use, without the vesting of title, are sufficient to permit the plaintiff to proceed with the project until the final ascertainment of compensation. No land or interests in land now or hereafter owned, leased, controlled, or operated and used by, or necessary for the actual operation of, any common carrier engaged in interstate commerce, or any other public utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission, shall be taken or appropriated under this Section by the State of Illinois, the Illinois Toll Highway Authority, the sanitary district, the St. Louis Metropolitan Area Airport Authority, or the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois without first securing the approval of the Illinois Commerce Commission. For property to be acquired by the Department of Transportation under Article 4, Division 5 or Article 8 of the Illinois Highway Code, the Commission shall issue its final order within 6 months after the date that the petition is filed unless the Commission extends the period for issuing a final order. The Commission may extend the 6-month period for an additional 3 months on its own motion, or on a petition filed with good cause by any party. The Commission may grant such extension upon finding of good cause. If the Commission extends the period for issuing a final order, then the schedule for the proceeding shall not be further extended beyond this 3-month period, and the Commission shall issue its final order within the extension period. The Commission shall also have the power to establish an expedited schedule for making its determination on a petition filed by the Department of Transportation in less than 6 months if it finds that the public interest requires the setting of such an expedited schedule.

Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the motion for taking shall state: (1) an accurate description of the property to which the motion relates and the estate or interest sought to be acquired in that property; (2) the formally adopted schedule or plan of operation for the execution of the plaintiff's project; (3) the situation of the property to which the motion relates, with respect to the schedule or plan; (4) the necessity for taking the property in the manner requested in the motion; and (5) if the property (except property described in Section 3 of the Sports Stadium Act or property described as Site B in Section 2 of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Act) to be taken is owned, leased, controlled, or operated and used by, or necessary for the actual operation of, any interstate common carrier or other public utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission, a statement to the effect that the approval of the proposed taking has been secured from the Commission, and attaching to the motion a certified copy of the order of the Illinois Commerce Commission granting approval. If the schedule or plan of operation is not set forth fully in the motion, a copy of the schedule or plan shall be attached to the motion.

The Department of Transportation shall report to the General Assembly no later than January 31 of each year the number of cases filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission under this Article during the previous year and the length of time taken, in months, to issue each final order during the previous calendar year.

(Source: P.A. 104-415, eff. 8-15-25.)