Illinois Statutes Chapter 65. Municipalities § 5/11-87-3. Use of channels of streams for street purposes; condemnation

§ 11-87-3. Whenever any portion within the corporate limits of a city or village of a fork, branch, arm, canal, or slip terminating within the city or village of any natural or artificial watercourse or stream, or a fork, branch, arm, canal, or slip communicating therewith, has been declared non-navigable by the Congress of the United States of America, or the United States of America has surrendered, relinquished, or abandoned jurisdiction of such a portion thereof as a navigable body of water, and in the judgment of the corporate authorities of the city or village it becomes necessary to fill in all or any part of a portion of such a watercourse or stream in order to properly lay out, establish, open, alter, widen, extend, grade, pave, or otherwise improve streets, avenues, or alleys, or any of them, in any part of the city or village, without the construction of a bridge over or along such a watercourse or stream, the corporate authorities have the power to provide by ordinance for the laying out, establishing, opening, altering, widening, extending, grading, paving, or otherwise improving such streets, avenues, and alleys, or any of them, in that part of the city or village and by the same ordinance to provide for the filling in of the channel, course, or bed of a part or all of any portion of such a watercourse or stream within the corporate limits of the city or village.

By this ordinance the corporate authorities may provide for taking by eminent domain of so much of the specified portion of such a watercourse or stream as the city or village requires for the purposes of any such street, avenue, or alley and of the rights in such a watercourse or stream of all owners of land adjoining the specified portion of such a watercourse or stream. The entire improvement provided for by this ordinance shall constitute a local improvement, the cost of which may be paid for by special assessment or special taxation of contiguous property or by general taxation, or otherwise, as the corporate authorities shall direct by ordinance. In providing for such an improvement the corporate authorities may proceed in accordance with the provisions of Article 9.