(220 ILCS 65/4) (from Ch. 134, par. 20)

Sec. 4. Right of condemnation. Every telecommunications carrier as defined in the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act may, when it shall be necessary for the construction, maintenance, alteration or extension of its telecommunications system, or any part thereof, enter upon, take or damage private property in the manner provided for in, and the compensation therefor shall be ascertained and made in conformity to the provisions of the Telegraph Act and every telecommunications carrier is authorized to construct, maintain, alter and extend its poles, wires, and other appliances as a proper use of highways, along, upon, under and across any highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water in this State, but so as not to incommode the public in the use thereof: Provided, that nothing in this act shall interfere with the control now vested in cities, incorporated towns and villages in relation to the regulation of the poles, wires, cables and other appliances, and provided, that before any such lines shall be constructed along any such highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water it shall be the duty of the telecommunications carrier proposing to construct any such line, to give (in the case of cities, villages, and incorporated towns) to the corporate authorities of the municipality or their designees (hereinafter, municipal corporate authorities) or (in other cases) to the highway commissioners having jurisdiction and control over the road or part thereof along and over which such line is proposed to be constructed, notice in writing in the form of plans, specifications, and documentation of the purpose and intention of the company to construct such line over and along the highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water, which notice shall be served at least 10 days before the line shall be placed or constructed over and along the highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water (30 days in the case of any notice providing for excavation relating to new construction in a public highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water); and upon the giving of the notice it shall be the duty of the municipal corporate authorities or the highway commissioners to specify the portion of such highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water upon which the line may be placed, used, and constructed, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the telecommunications retailer to provide the municipal authorities or highway commissioners with any and all plans, specifications, and documentation available and to construct its line in accordance with such specifications; but in the event that the municipal corporate authorities or the highway commissioners fail to provide such specification within 10 days after the service of such notice, (25 days in the case of excavation relating to new construction) then the telecommunications retailer, without such specification having been made, may proceed to place and erect its line along the highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water by placing its posts, poles and abutments so as not to interfere with other proper uses of the highway, street, alley, public right-of-way dedicated or commonly used for utility purposes, or water. The telecommunications carrier proposing to construct any such line shall comply with the provisions of Section 9-113 of the Illinois Highway Code. Provided, that the telecommunications carrier shall not have the right to condemn any portion of the right-of-way of any railroad company except as much thereof as is necessary to cross the same.

The Illinois Commerce Commission may adopt reasonable rules governing the negotiation procedures that are used by a telecommunications carrier during precondemnation negotiations for the purchase of land rights-of-way and easements, including procedures for providing information to the public and affected landowners concerning the project and the right-of-way easements sought in connection therewith.

Such rules may be made applicable to interstate, competitive intrastate and noncompetitive intrastate facilities, without regard to whether such facilities or the telecommunications carrier proposing to construct and operate them would otherwise be subject to the Illinois Commerce Commission's jurisdiction under the Public Utilities Act, as now or hereafter amended. However, as to facilities used to provide exclusively interstate services or competitive intrastate services or both, nothing in this Section confers any power upon the Commission (i) to require the disclosure of proprietary, competitively sensitive, or cost information or information not known to the telecommunications carrier, (ii) to determine whether, or conduct hearings regarding whether, any proposed fiber optic or other facilities should or should not be constructed and operated, or (iii) to determine or specify, or conduct hearings concerning, the price or other terms or conditions of the purchase of the right-of-way easements sought. With respect to facilities used to provide any intrastate services classified in the condemnor's tariff as noncompetitive under Section 13-502 of the Public Utilities Act, the rulemaking powers conferred upon the Commission under this Section are in addition to any rulemaking powers arising under the Public Utilities Act.

No telecommunications carrier shall exercise the power to condemn private property until it has first substantially complied with such rules with respect to the property sought to be condemned. If such rules call for providing notice or information before or during negotiations, a failure to provide such notice or information shall not constitute a waiver of the rights granted in this Section, but the telecommunications carrier shall be liable for all reasonable attorney's fees of that landowner resulting from such failure.

(Source: P.A. 92-526, eff. 1-1-03; 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)