Illinois Statutes Chapter 65. Municipalities § 5/11-121-8. Removal and relocation of public utility structures

§ 11-121-8. In this section, the term “public utility structures and appliances” includes lines of a street railroad or other railroad, or both, and the property used to supply or deal in gas, electricity, lighting, water, heating, refrigerating, power, telephone, telegraph, and other public utilities, and any conduits, pipes, wires, poles, or other properties used for the specified purposes or any of them.

Every municipality has the power to require persons owning or operating public utility structures and appliances in, upon, under, over, across, or along the streets, alleys, or public places of the municipality in which it is proposed to construct subways, (1) to remove these public utility structures and appliances from their locations in the streets, alleys, or public places, and (2) to relocate them in such places in the subways or elsewhere in the streets, alleys, or public places of the municipality as may be designated by the municipality, either temporarily or for the remainder of the period of the grant, license, or franchise which the specified persons have to occupy the streets, alleys, and public places for public utility purposes. If any person owning or operating public utility structures and appliances fails or refuses so to remove or relocate them, the municipality may remove or relocate them.

However, the power of the municipality to so remove or relocate public utility structures and appliances itself, or to require persons owning or operating public utility structures and appliances to so remove or relocate them, shall be exercised only upon such terms and conditions as the municipality and these persons may agree upon, or in default of such an agreement, upon such fair and reasonable terms and conditions as the municipality may prescribe. These terms and conditions may include fair and reasonable provisions as to how much, if any, of the expense of the removal, or relocation, shall be paid by the owners or operators of public utility structures and appliances, respectively, and as to what compensation, if any, shall be paid to the municipality by the owners or operators of public utility structures and appliances, respectively, for the use or occupation of such space, if any, as they may use or occupy in the subways.