Lawsuit aims to get land for bike trail

DNR seeks title for proposed bikeway

By CHRIS DETTRO

THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

Posted Nov 29, 2009 @ 03:46 PM

Last update Nov 29, 2009 @ 11:32 PM

A condemnation lawsuit described as “friendly” by state officials is seeking to clear the way for a new bike trail in western Sangamon County.

The eminent domain suit seeks to find the heirs to about 6.5 acres of property of less than 100 feet in width that runs through Sangamon County west of Springfield. The trail eventually will stretch nearly 39 miles from Nilwood in Macoupin County to just inside the Menard County line.

“The only time we use eminent domain is for trails,” said Tom Flattery, director of the Office of Real Estate and Environmental Planning for the state Department of Natural Resources. DNR is the plaintiff in the suit, which lists dozens of names as defendants, but really concerns heirs of just four families, Flattery said.

He said the railroad purchased the right-of-way around 1910, and when it was abandoned, ownership of some of it reverted back to the original owners.

The problem is that two, sometimes three generations, separate the original owners from the current heirs.

“One has as many as 200 heirs,” Flattery said.

He described the suit as “a friendly condemnation suit.”

“We’ve agreed on value,” he said.

The state paid $1.1 million to Union Pacific in 2001 for the right-of-way that hadn’t reverted.

“It was a fairly clean trail and a relatively new railroad,” he said. “We knew specifically what we didn’t have clear title to.”

The defendants have until Tuesday to respond to the lawsuit.
Flattery said Sangamon County is trying to secure funding for a section of the trail, while the city of Springfield hasn’t made much progress.

“We’re land-banking the right-of-way,” Flattery said.

Sangamon County has a set of plans to develop a 5.5-mile section of the trail between Stuart and Centennial parks on the west side, according to Sangamon County Highway Engineer Tim Zahrn.

“We’re just waiting on getting funding,” he said. The initial section is estimated to cost $3.6 million.

The county has applied for federal stimulus dollars for the project but has heard nothing yet, he said.

Chris Dettro can be reached at 788-1510.