SPRINGFIELD,
Ill. (AP) — The Illinois House has passed legislation giving the state the
power to acquire private property for a proposed expressway connecting
Interstate 65 in Indiana with Interstate 55 in Illinois.
Under what has
been called “quick-take,” the Illinois Transportation Department can bypass
eminent domain court proceedings in acquiring private property for the
proposed expressway. Proponents of the Illiana highway say with the
legislation ground can be broken in 2016.
Although the
original legislation backing the project ruled out using quick-take power,
Democratic Rep. Anthony DeLuca of Chicago Heights says quick-take is a
“necessary evil” to get the highway built.
The Chicago
Tribune reports $9 million has been allocated to study the project. It is
projected the 47-mile expressway from Lowell, Ind., to Wilmington, Ill.
would cost $3 billion to build.
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