(20 ILCS 1110/3) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 4103)
Sec. 3. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall have the
following powers and duties:
(a) To solicit, accept and expend gifts, grants or any form of
assistance, from any source, including but not limited to, the federal
government or any agency thereof;
(b) To enter into contracts, including, but not limited to, service
contracts, with business, industrial, university,
governmental or other qualified individuals or organizations to promote
development of coal and other energy resources. Such contracts may be
for, but are not limited to, the following purposes: (1) the
commercial application of existing technology for development of coal
resources, (2) to initiate or complete development of new technology for
development of coal resources, and (3) for planning, design,
acquisition, development, construction, improvement and financing a site
or sites and facilities for establishing plants, projects or
demonstrations for development of coal resources and research,
development and demonstration of alternative forms of energy; and
(c) In the exercise of other powers granted it under this Act, to
acquire property, real, personal or mixed, including any rights therein,
by exercise of the power of condemnation in accordance with the
procedures provided for the exercise of eminent domain under the Eminent Domain Act, provided, however, the power of
condemnation shall be exercised solely for the purposes of
siting and/or rights of way and/or easements appurtenant to coal
utilization and/or coal conversion projects. The Department shall not
exercise its powers of condemnation until it has used reasonable good
faith efforts to acquire such property before filing a petition for
condemnation and may thereafter use such powers when it determines that
such condemnation of property rights is necessary to avoid unreasonable
delay or economic hardship to the progress of activities carried out in
the exercise of powers granted under this Act. After June 30, 1985, the
Department shall not exercise its power of condemnation for a project
which does not receive State or U.S. Government funding. Before use of
the power of condemnation for projects not receiving State or U.S.
Government funding, the Department shall hold a public hearing to
receive comments on the exercise of the power of condemnation. The
Department shall use the information received at hearing in making its
final decision on the exercise of the power of condemnation. The
hearing shall be held in a location reasonably accessible to the public
interested in the decision. The Department shall promulgate guidelines
for the conduct of the hearing.
(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06; 94-1055, eff. 1-1-07.)
|