Rock Island Loses Big Island Tax Case
“The judge says the city’s arguments fail on two big points.
The first, the city argued it has the ability to condemn a portion of the levee using its eminent domain powers. The judge writes state law narrowly defines how a city can use its powers of eminent domain. The law says cities can take from other cities, counties, school districts, and other bodies of government but river conservancy districts are left out from the list
The judge says that’s important, the state did not give cities eminent domain power over that type of Government.
The second big point the judge says the city is wrong on, it can’t modify a levee built by the Federal Government. The city argued the law did not apply to it, the judge disagrees, saying other cases in Illinois showed cities needed to get approval from the Federal Government to modify Federal property.”
Fox 18 KLBJ.biz 11 August 2014.