(315 ILCS 10/2) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 91.2)
Sec. 2.
Legislative finding and declaration.
It is hereby found and declared:
(a) That there exists within the populous areas in the State of Illinois
an inadequate quantity of housing and that this inadequacy may not be
regarded as transitory or self-curing;
(b) Inadequacy of housing in such areas breeds disease, mental and
physical; increases the mortality rate; contributes to marital instability,
juvenile delinquency, and crime; requires increased expenditures by the
State of Illinois and by local governments; necessitates higher tax levies;
and intensifies demands for charity, both public and private;
(c) Alleviation of the inadequacy of housing in such areas requires the
use for housing purposes of presently undeveloped land in such populous
areas, in tracts sufficiently large to meet modern and economical
construction needs and patterns and the requirements of modern city
planning;
(d) A large proportion of presently undeveloped land in populous areas,
suitable for housing purposes within the aforementioned requirements, lies
within subdivisions in which there is prevalent (i) small lot size; (ii)
diversity of ownership; (iii) unknown ownership and clouded titles; (iv)
taxes and special assessment delinquencies usually exceeding the fair value
of the land. These characteristics render such land unmarketable in fact
for housing purposes or for any other economic purpose, so that such land,
in its present state, cannot be developed by private enterprise.
(e) These subdivisions are a continuing burden upon the tax paying
properties of the community and they are permitted through neglect to
produce weeds, noxious and otherwise, which become fire hazards during the
autumn season, and are often the locations where offensive, immoral, and
criminal acts are perpetrated. They have, therefore, become a blight upon
the community.
(f) That these conditions prevent development of desirable residential
areas, resulting in added costs to the people of this State for creation of
new public facilities and services. That lots within such subdivisions
which have a fair cash market value in excess of the amount of the unpaid
taxes and special assessments, are so burdened and encumbered by such
conditions that the owners suffer from the blight which engulfs such areas
and destroys the marketability of otherwise saleable land.
(g) As a result of these degenerative conditions the properties within
these blighted vacant areas are in a state of nonproductiveness and fail to
produce their due and proper share of the taxes necessary to support local
governments within whose boundaries they are situated notwithstanding the
annual outlay of a substantial amount of public revenues in a largely
ineffectual effort to collect such taxes. They are economic, social, and
physical waste lands which produce a meager share of the public revenue
raised to defray the cost of police and fire protection, the protection of
public health and the promotion of general welfare. The drain upon the
public revenues caused directly and indirectly by these blighted vacant
areas, has impaired and will continue to impair the efficient, economical,
and indispensable governmental functions of the State of Illinois, as well
as of the counties and municipalities within the State of Illinois.
(h) That these blighted vacant areas constitute physical, economic, and
social nuisances, and should be eliminated in the best interest of the
health, morals, safety, and general welfare of the people of the State of
Illinois. Accordingly, such elimination and development as herein provided
is hereby declared to be a public use.
(Source: Laws 1949, p. 994.)
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