In passing the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act, the Illinois legislature included a statutory provision requiring any entity entering into a contract with the State of Illinois or local government relating to the ownership and use of real property to disclose ownership and beneficial interest-holder information related to the property. Such a disclosure, especially when examined under the lens of anti-corruption efforts, is understandable when a business and governmental body voluntarily elect to enter a contract in furtherance of some legitimate business goal. However, the statute requires such disclosures even in agreements related to condemnation efforts in which the government unilaterally elects to take private property. It is indisputable that the government must take certain property by eminent domain for valid public purposes, but the statute, as implemented, compounds the impact of a taking on Illinois real estate investors by requiring disclosure of confidential, and commonly extremely sensitive, ownership and beneficial interest-holder information. This can be a difficult proposition for owners and beneficial interest holders to understand and agree to when they had no choice in becoming involved with the taking efforts.
LINKS
Read “Condemnees Be Advised: Illinois Requires Ownership and Beneficiary Disclosures to Settle Takings,” authored by Paul F. Stibbe, published by the American Bar Association. (subscription)