(220 ILCS 65/4) (from Ch. 134, par. 20)
Sec. 4.
Right of condemnation.
Every telecommunications carrier as defined in the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act may, when it shall be necessary for the
construction, maintenance, alteration or extension of its telecommunications
system, or any part thereof, enter upon, take or damage private property in the
manner provided for in, and the compensation therefor shall be ascertained and
made in conformity to the provisions of the Telegraph Act and every
telecommunications carrier is authorized to construct, maintain, alter and
extend its poles, wires, and other appliances as a proper use of highways,
along, upon, under and across any highway, street, alley, public right-of-way
dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water
in this State, but so as not to incommode the public in the use thereof:
Provided, that nothing in this act shall interfere with the control now
vested in cities, incorporated towns and villages in relation to the
regulation of the poles, wires, cables and other appliances, and provided,
that before any such lines shall be constructed along any such highway,
street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility
purposes, or water it shall be the duty of the telecommunications carrier
proposing to construct any such line, to give (in the case of cities, villages,
and incorporated towns) to the corporate authorities of the municipality or
their designees (hereinafter, municipal corporate authorities) or (in other
cases) to the highway commissioners having jurisdiction and control over the
road or part thereof along and over which such line is proposed to be
constructed, notice in writing in the form of plans, specifications, and
documentation of the purpose and intention of the company to construct such
line over and along the highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated
or commonly used for utility purposes, or water, which notice shall be served
at least 10 days before the line shall be placed or constructed over and along
the highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for
utility purposes, or water (30 days in the case of any notice providing for
excavation relating to new construction in a public highway, street, alley,
public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water);
and upon the giving of the notice it shall be the duty of the municipal
corporate authorities or the highway commissioners to specify the portion of
such highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used
for utility purposes, or water upon which the line may be placed, used, and
constructed, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the telecommunications
retailer to provide the municipal authorities or highway commissioners with any
and all plans, specifications, and documentation available and to construct
its line in accordance with such specifications; but in the event that the
municipal corporate authorities or the highway commissioners fail to provide
such specification within 10 days after the service of such notice, (25 days
in the case of excavation relating to new construction) then the
telecommunications retailer, without such specification having been made, may
proceed to place and erect its line along the highway, street, alley, public
right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water by
placing its posts, poles and abutments so as not to interfere with other proper
uses of the highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly
used for utility purposes, or water. The telecommunications carrier proposing
to construct any such line shall comply with the provisions of Section 9-113
of the Illinois Highway Code. Provided, that the telecommunications carrier
shall not have the right to condemn any portion of the right-of-way of any
railroad company except as much thereof as is necessary to cross the same.
The Illinois Commerce Commission may adopt reasonable rules governing
the negotiation procedures that are used by a telecommunications carrier
during precondemnation negotiations for the purchase of land rights-of-way
and easements, including procedures for providing information to the public
and affected landowners concerning the project and the right-of-way easements
sought in connection therewith.
Such rules may be made applicable to interstate, competitive intrastate
and noncompetitive intrastate facilities, without regard to whether such
facilities or the telecommunications carrier proposing
to construct and operate them would otherwise be subject to the Illinois
Commerce Commission's jurisdiction under the Public Utilities Act, as now
or hereafter amended. However, as to facilities used to provide exclusively
interstate services or competitive intrastate services or both, nothing in
this Section confers any power upon the Commission (i) to require the
disclosure of proprietary, competitively sensitive, or cost information or
information not known to the telecommunications
carrier, (ii) to determine whether, or conduct hearings regarding whether,
any proposed fiber optic or other facilities should or should not be
constructed and operated, or (iii) to determine or specify, or conduct
hearings concerning, the price or other terms or conditions of the purchase
of the right-of-way easements sought. With respect to facilities used to
provide any intrastate services classified in the condemnor's tariff as
noncompetitive under Section 13-502 of the Public Utilities Act, the rulemaking
powers conferred upon the Commission under this Section are in addition to any
rulemaking powers arising under the Public Utilities Act.
No telecommunications carrier shall exercise the power to condemn private
property until it has first substantially complied with such rules with respect
to the property sought to be condemned. If such rules call for providing
notice or information before or during negotiations, a failure to provide such
notice or information shall not constitute a waiver of the rights granted in
this Section, but the telecommunications carrier shall be liable for all
reasonable attorney's fees of that landowner resulting from such failure.
(Source: P.A. 92-526, eff. 1-1-03; 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)
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