Chicago & Alton Railroad v. City of Pontiac

169 Ill. 155
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 8, 1897
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 169 Ill. 155 (Chicago & Alton Railroad v. City of Pontiac) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chicago & Alton Railroad v. City of Pontiac, 169 Ill. 155 (Ill. 1897).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Magruder

delivered the opinion of the court:

First—Appellant urges, that the demurrer filed by it to the petition of the city should have been sustained. Without considering the question, whether the filing of the cross-petition by appellant, and the introduction of testimony in support thereof, amounted to a waiver of the right to insist upon the grounds urged in favor of the demurrer, we will briefly consider such grounds as presented by counsel for appellant in their argument.

The petition is alleged to be defective upon the alleged ground, that the description of the premises therein is vague, uncertain and indefinite. We do not regard the petition as defective in this respect. The petition shows, that the premises to be taken comprise part of the lands, right of way and tracks of the appellant. The words, “lands, right of way and tracks,” are broad enough to cover and include the yard of appellant. We have held in a number of cases, that the terms, “right of way,” “tracks,” and “lands,” apply to tracks or lands devoted to the purpose of a railroad yard. (Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago, 156 Ill. 98; Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co. v. City of Chicago, 151 id. 348; Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago, 141 id. 586). The petition and the ordinance attached to it show, that the strip of land to be taken is sixty-six feet wide and is an extension of Prairie street from the east side of the right of way of appellant to the west side of said right of way. This description is sufficiently accurate as to the distance, width and location. The statute only requires, that the petition shall contain, “a reasonably accurate description” of the property to be taken or damaged. (Rev. Stat. chap. 24, art. 9, sec. 5). There is no rule, which requires any greater certainty in the description than such certainty, as will enable a surveyor to readily find and locate the ground. Such certainty exists here. (Village of Byron v. Blount, 97 Ill. 62; Newman v. City of Chicago, 153 id. 469).

The petition is alleged to be defective upon the ground, that it does not show, that the compensation to be paid for the property sought to be condemned could not be agreed upon between the city and the appellant. This point is without force. Where the petition is filed under article 9 of the City and Village act to condemn land for a street, an allegation of inability to agree upon the compensation is unnecessary. (Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co. v. City of Chicago, 148 Ill. 141; Cahill v. Village of Norwood Parle, 149 id. 156; Lake Shove and Michigan Southern Railway Co. v. City of Chicago, 148 id. 509; City of Danville v. McAdams, 153 id. 216; Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co. v. Town of Cicero, 154 id. 656).

The petition is also alleged to be defective upon the ground, that upon its face it does not show a public necessity for the extension of the street across the right of way, tracks and yard of the company. It was not necessary for the petition to allege facts showing such public necessity, inasmuch as the question of public necessity is a legislative question, and, therefore, the ordinance passed by the common council, providing for the improvement, was decisive of that question.

It is further alleged, that the petition is defective in not showing, that the new use of the property, sought to be condemned for a street, would be consistent with the railroad uses to which it was already devoted. We can not regard this objection as well taken. Lands, once taken for a public use pursuant to law under the right of eminent domain, can be appropriated by proceedings-in invitum to a different public use, where there is legislative authority authorizing the same to be done. Such legislative authority exists in paragraph 89 of section 1 of article 5 of the City and Village act, which provides, that “the city council shall have power by condemnation or otherwise, to extend any street, alley or highway over or across, or to construct any sewer under or through any railroad track, right' of way, or land of any railroad company within the corporate limits.” (1 Starr & Cur. Stat. p. 472; Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago, 141 Ill. 586, and cases therein cited; Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co. v. City of Chicago, 151 id. 348). Moreover section 5 of article 9 of the City and Village act provides specifically what the petition shall contain. That section makes no requirement for an allegation as to the public necessity of the improvement, or as to the consistency between the new public use and the old public use. Therefore, “there is no proper place in this particular proceeding for either” allegation. {City of Danville v. McAdams, supra).

Second—Appellant claims that the court below erred in refusing to grant its motion to dismiss the petition of the city. It urges three grounds, upon which the court below erred in refusing to grant said motion. These three grounds are, first, that it would be an abuse of the power of eminent domain to permit the extension of the street across the land, yard and right of way and tracks of the company under the particular circumstances of this case; second, that there was no public necessity for the extension of the'street; and third, that the appropriation of the ground for street purposes by extension of the street would be inconsistent with its present use, under the power of eminent domain, for railroad yard, right of way and track uses. None of the three reasons thus presented would have justified the court below in dismissing the petition. We are, therefore, of the opinion that there was no error in denying the motion to dismiss the same.

In the first place, it is for the legislative branch of the government alone to determine, whether the exigency exists, which calls for the exercise of the power of eminent domain, and for its delegation to municipal, or other public, corporations of its creation. (O'Hare v. Chicago, Madison and Northern Railroad Co. 139 Ill. 151; Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. City of Decatur, 154 id. 173). City councils have the power to determine what are local improvements and what is the necessity for the same, and where there is no abuse of the power thus conferred, their determination of the question is final. Unless there has been an abuse of power on the part of the city council in passing an ordinance for local improvements, the courts are powerless to interfere. The reasonableness of an ordinance, or the necessity of the improvement provided by it, cannot be submitted to a jury. The only question for a jury in a condemnation proceeding is the amount of compensation to be awarded for taking or damaging the property sought to be taken or damaged. (O’Hare v. Chicago, Madison and Northern Railway Co. supra; DeBuol v. Freeport and Mississippi River Railway Co. 111 Ill. 499; Peoria and Pekin Union Railway Co. v. Peoria and Farmington Railway Co. 105 id. 110; Smith v. Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad Co. 105 id. 511; Louisville and Nashville Railroad Co. v. City of East St. Louis, 134 id. 656; Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. City of Decatur, 154 id., 173). In Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co. v. Town of Cicero, 154 Ill. 656, we said (p. 658): “The location of new streets or the extension of old streets is a matter committed by the legislature of the State to the local authorities of the town. It could only be an extreme case of oppression or outrage, that would justify interference by the court.” In the case at bar, no case of oppression or outrage or unreasonableness is presented by the record.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Village of Wheeling v. Exchange National Bank
572 N.E.2d 966 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
County of Fayette v. Whitford
6 N.E.2d 157 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1936)
Welton v. Iowa State Highway Commission
233 N.W. 876 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1930)
Clendaniel v. Conrad
83 A. 1036 (Supreme Court of Delaware, 1912)
City of Moline v. Greene
96 N.E. 911 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1911)
Illinois Match Co. v. Chicago, Rock, Island & Pacific Railway Co.
153 Ill. App. 568 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1910)
City of Grafton v. St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Co.
113 N.W. 598 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1907)
Memphis State Line Railroad v. Forest Hill Cemetery Co.
116 Tenn. 400 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1906)
Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad
62 A. 141 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1905)
Cullinan v. Furthmann
3 Liquor Tax Rep. 575 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1905)
Lake Erie & Western Railroad v. Shelley
71 N.E. 151 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1904)
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad v. Crose
113 Ill. App. 547 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1904)
Spohr v. City of Chicago
69 N.E. 515 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1903)
Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. v. City of Morrison
195 Ill. 271 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1902)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
169 Ill. 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chicago-alton-railroad-v-city-of-pontiac-ill-1897.