Government rights in land
Government rights in land: use PETE, then read the facts
A zoning rule, a road easement and a tax lien can all affect the same parcel without doing the same thing. PETE helps you name the power. The next step is to identify the actual interest, procedure and limit, especially when an Illinois rule changes the general textbook answer.
Last reviewed:
The short answer
PETE stands for police power, eminent domain, taxation and escheat. Police power regulates land use; eminent domain is the authorised power of compulsory acquisition for public use with required compensation; taxation raises revenue; escheat is a succession backstop. Condemnation is an acquisition procedure, inverse condemnation is an owner’s compensation claim, and a special assessment concerns a specially benefiting public improvement. In Illinois, qualifying intestate real estate escheats to the county where the land is located, not automatically to the State Treasurer.
Reviewed October 27, 2026. PSI names taxes and special assessments in national II.A.1 and eminent domain, condemnation and escheat in II.A.2. Government use controls and private controls are other parts of the same Land Use Controls domain. The whole domain has five of the 100 scored national broker questions; this page has no separate guaranteed quota. These are original teaching examples, not an appraisal, title opinion, tax bill or probate decision.
Identify the action before choosing the legal label
- Regulation: look for a rule about use, construction, safety or development. Zoning and building codes are familiar police-power examples. The particular public body still needs authority and must follow applicable constitutional and procedural limits. A lower property value does not automatically prove a taking; calling an appropriation a regulation does not automatically avoid compensation either.
- Compulsory acquisition: identify the authorised actor, public use and property interest being taken. An easement or temporary construction interest can matter as much as fee title. Condemnation is the legal process used to exercise the taking power. A government buyer’s voluntary negotiated purchase is not automatically a condemnation case.
- Compensation claim: determine whether government started the acquisition proceeding or the owner alleges an uncompensated taking. The latter is the inverse-condemnation setting. Alleging government-caused flooding, physical occupation or a use restriction does not itself prove every element or establish an award. Illinois protects property taken or damaged for public use, with the applicable legal conditions.
- Taxation: distinguish property valuation, the levy, rate and resulting bill. Ad valorem means based on value. The assessment process is different from charging the final tax, and a lien securing tax is different from government ownership. In Illinois, Section 21-75’s opening paragraph uses January 1 in the year the taxes are levied; it is not a rule that the lien first appears only after delinquency.
- Special benefit: a public special assessment is tied to a particular improvement and specially benefited property. It is different from general revenue collection and from a condominium association’s private special charge. The project’s asserted benefit, allocation and required procedure still need the governing authority; not every charge using the word assessment is automatically valid.
- Succession: determine whether the property is intestate probate property, whether a valid disposition or nonprobate transfer applies, and who is entitled under the descent rules. No will does not mean no heir. A surviving spouse, descendants or other qualifying kindred can prevent escheat. Absence from the premises, an unpaid tax bill or an unclaimed bank account is not the same succession problem.
- Illinois escheat destination: for the qualifying real estate covered by Section 2-1(h), after the required estate claims and succession analysis, land goes to the county in which it is located. Personal estate has different statutory categories and destinations. Do not substitute the deceased owner’s residence county or the State Treasurer for the land’s county merely because a national definition says state.
- Separate a label from the outcome. A valid taking claim does not follow from every value decline; urgency alone does not confer quick-take authority; a tax-sale certificate is not automatically a deed; and the absence of a will does not let anyone declare immediate county ownership. Use the supplied facts and applicable procedure rather than filling the gaps with assumptions.
- For partial-taking arithmetic, use only the legally compensable, nonoverlapping components the question supplies. A value for the part taken as part of the whole and a separate compensable remainder loss can be added when the setup permits. If a before-and-after whole-property loss already contains both, do not add the part again. Evidence of a reasonable, economical cure is not automatically another award on top of the same loss.
| Label | What it describes | What it does not establish alone |
|---|---|---|
| Police power | Regulation for the permitted public-welfare purposes | That every restriction is valid or immune from compensation |
| Eminent domain | Authorised compulsory acquisition power | That any public benefit or private buyer has authority |
| Taxation | Raising public revenue under law | That government already owns taxed land |
| Escheat | The applicable succession backstop | That every person without a will has no heirs |
| Condemnation | The legal acquisition procedure | That every negotiated purchase is compulsory |
| Inverse condemnation | Owner’s claim of an uncompensated taking | That filing the claim proves liability |
| Public special assessment | Charge for a specially benefiting improvement | That it is a fifth PETE power or a private HOA charge |
| Illinois land escheat | County where qualifying land is located | Automatic State Treasurer ownership of all property |
The distinctions that matter
| Distinction | How it works | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Police power and eminent domain | Regulating use differs from the authorised power of compulsory acquisition. | A setback rule differs from acquiring a road easement. |
| Power and procedure | Eminent domain names the power; condemnation names its exercise through the legal process. | Do not make every government purchase a lawsuit. |
| Acquisition and unsafe-building condemnation | A taking proceeding differs from a safety-enforcement use of the same word. | Read what the order actually does. |
| Direct and inverse condemnation | The condemning entity starts the acquisition case; the owner brings the claim alleging an uncompensated taking. | A claim is not yet an award. |
| Physical appropriation and use regulation | The legal test depends on the kind of government action and its qualifications. | A regulatory label is not automatic immunity, nor is every inspection a taking. |
| Whole and partial taking | Taking an entire interest differs from taking part and assessing compensable remainder effects. | Do not count the same loss twice. |
| Assessment and levy | A value-determination step differs from the taxing body’s revenue request. | Neither number alone is necessarily the final bill. |
| Tax lien and title | A charge against the property differs from ownership of it. | Delinquency and a later statutory enforcement process are separate events. |
| Public and private special assessments | A public improvement charge differs from a private association’s assessment. | Identify the body imposing the charge and its authority. |
| Intestacy and escheat | Property without an effective testamentary disposition still has a statutory succession order. | No will does not eliminate surviving heirs. |
| Illinois land and personal estate | Section 2-1(h) distinguishes the land’s county from personal-estate destinations. | Read the asset type before choosing the recipient. |
| Escheat and unclaimed-property custody | County land succession differs from the Treasurer holding qualifying unclaimed assets for owners or heirs. | An unused account is not proof of county land title. |
Work through the facts
A compulsory road easement
An authorised public body uses the required condemnation process to acquire an easement for a public road project. The facts supply the public use and legal authority.
- A property interest is compulsorily acquired.
- The interest can be an easement rather than the entire fee title.
Answer: Classify the power as eminent domain and the proceeding as condemnation. Compensation and procedural requirements remain separate checks.
A government purchase is not automatically condemnation
A town buys a lot through an ordinary voluntary agreement with its willing owner. No compulsory proceeding or asserted taking is supplied.
- The purchaser is a public body.
- The facts nevertheless describe a voluntary sale.
Answer: The buyer’s identity alone does not establish condemnation. Do not insert a lawsuit or compulsory taking into the scenario.
Read the setback facts without deciding a lawsuit
A generally applicable setback rule prevents one proposed layout. The owner retains economically usable land, and no physical occupation or other taking facts are supplied.
- The action regulates development.
- Losing a preferred layout does not itself establish compensation.
Answer: The stated action is a police-power use regulation. Its validity and any properly supported taking claim still require the applicable legal analysis.
The owner brings the compensation claim
An owner alleges that government permanently occupied a private strip without acquiring the interest or paying compensation. The owner brings an action seeking required compensation.
- The owner initiates the claim.
- The scenario alleges an uncompensated taking rather than supplying a government-filed condemnation proceeding.
Answer: This is the inverse-condemnation setting. The allegation alone does not establish a final award or every procedural requirement.
Identify the body imposing an assessment
A public agency imposes a charge under its improvement authority on specially benefited parcels for a sewer extension. In another case, a condominium board charges unit owners for roof work.
- The first is a public improvement and special-benefit pattern.
- The second is an association’s private charge.
Answer: The public charge is the governmental special-assessment example; do not assign the same public taxing authority to the condominium board.
Use the given taxable base
An original math exercise supplies a final taxable EAV of $200,000 after all stated adjustments and a rate of $7.50 per $100. Ignore every other charge and credit.
- $200,000 ÷ 100 = 2,000 units.
- 2,000 × $7.50 = $15,000.
Answer: The stipulated annual tax is $15,000. The 7.50-per-$100 figure is an invented exercise rate, not a quoted October 2026 local rate.
No will, but a surviving heir
An Illinois decedent leaves intestate property and a legally entitled surviving spouse. Assume the facts establish the spouse’s right under the applicable succession branch.
- The property is intestate.
- A legal taker exists.
Answer: Apply intestate succession rather than escheat merely because there is no will. Do not decide every share without the remaining family facts.
The land’s county controls the stated escheat destination
The estate facts expressly satisfy Section 2-1(h) for intestate Illinois land in Champaign County, with all just estate claims paid and no surviving spouse or known kindred. The decedent lived elsewhere.
- The question specifies Illinois real estate and the applicable no-taker branch.
- The statutory land destination is the county where the land is located.
Answer: The stated destination is Champaign County, subject to the required administration and legal process. Residence elsewhere does not change that land-location rule.
Add the stipulated losses only once
An original partial-taking exercise stipulates $30,000 for the part taken as part of the whole. The remainder was worth $370,000 before and $355,000 after. The $15,000 difference is expressly legally compensable, separate from the part’s value. Assume no benefits, other offsets or extra compensation components.
- Remainder loss: $370,000 − $355,000 = $15,000.
- Total stipulated components: $30,000 + $15,000 = $45,000.
- Equivalently, the supplied whole-before value is $400,000 and the after-remainder value is $355,000, a $45,000 difference.
Answer: The stipulated total is $45,000. Adding $30,000 again to the already inclusive $45,000 difference would produce an incorrect $75,000. Actual valuation and legally allowed adjustments require their own evidence.
A valid gift can prevent the intestate-land question
A decedent has no surviving spouse or known kindred, but a valid, effective will disposes of the particular Illinois parcel to a charity legally capable of taking it. The facts expressly establish that gift; no lapse, invalidity or other competing issue is supplied.
- The question supplies an effective disposition of this parcel.
- The absence of family does not make this expressly disposed-of parcel intestate.
Answer: Do not apply the intestate no-taker escheat branch merely because there is no family. The stipulated effective disposition controls, subject to the required estate process.
Mistakes to avoid
- PETE classifies every procedure as another government power. Keep the four mnemonic powers separate from condemnation procedures and related charges.
- The word regulation always means no compensation. Physical appropriation and constitutional limits still require analysis.
- Every decline in market value guarantees a taking award. The applicable taking test and facts matter.
- Only a whole fee title can be taken. A lesser or temporary property interest can be acquired under the relevant authority.
- Every government purchase is condemnation. A willing negotiated sale can be an ordinary acquisition.
- Any urgent project can take first and settle later. Quick-take requires applicable authority and the prescribed court process.
- A dangerous-building label transfers title. Safety enforcement and compulsory acquisition are different questions.
- The tax lien begins only after a missed payment. Use the actual Illinois lien statute’s levy-year language.
- A tax lien or certificate already makes the government the owner. Identify the actual statutory enforcement and title stage.
- No will means the government takes immediately. Check effective transfers, statutory heirs and administration.
- Every Illinois escheat asset goes to the State Treasurer. Land and personal-estate categories have different destinations.
- An unclaimed account proves the owner abandoned the land. Custodial unclaimed-property administration is a different legal setting.
Check your understanding
These are original teaching questions, not recalled or predicted PSI questions. Answer first, then explain why the other choices fail.
1. Which mnemonic identifies police power, eminent domain, taxation and escheat?
- OLDCAR
- DTI
- LTV
- PETE
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. PETE
PETE is the traditional four-power memory aid. It does not make every related procedure an additional government power.
2. Which power is most directly associated with an authorised zoning use rule?
- Police power
- Intestate succession
- Private ownership by the assessor
- Escheat
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Police power
Zoning regulates use under the applicable public authority. The label does not establish that every ordinance or restriction is valid.
3. An authorised entity compulsorily acquires a public-road easement through the required legal process. Which pairing fits?
- Taxation and probate
- Escheat and valuation
- Private association and inheritance
- Eminent domain and condemnation
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Eminent domain and condemnation
Eminent domain names the compulsory acquisition power; condemnation names the exercise through legal procedure. An easement can be the interest acquired.
4. A public body buys from a willing owner under a voluntary agreement. No compulsory action is supplied. Does public ownership of the buyer alone prove condemnation?
- Yes, if the seller receives money
- Yes, every government purchase is compulsory
- No
- Yes, a deed is always a condemnation order
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. No
The supplied transaction is a voluntary sale. Do not invent a compulsory proceeding merely because the purchaser is a public body.
5. Who brings the owner’s claim alleging a government taking without the ordinary condemnation process or required compensation?
- Only the condemning body as plaintiff
- Only the local assessor
- Only the buyer’s agent
- The affected owner
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The affected owner
That is the inverse-condemnation setting. Bringing a claim does not by itself prove every element or an award.
6. Must the government acquire an entire parcel’s fee title for a taking issue to exist?
- Yes, partial interests never count
- Yes, unless the owner is a broker
- Yes, temporary interests are never relevant
- No; an easement or other protected interest can be involved
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. No; an easement or other protected interest can be involved
Identify the actual protected interest and applicable taking standard. Compulsory acquisition can involve less than the entire fee.
7. Does a decline in value caused by a land-use regulation automatically establish a compensable taking?
- Yes, every dollar decline must be paid
- No regulation can ever be a taking
- No; the applicable test and facts matter
- Yes, whenever the owner objects
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. No; the applicable test and facts matter
Neither categorical answer is sound. Ordinary use regulation, physical appropriation and other taking claims require their applicable legal analysis.
8. An unsafe-building order concerns the property’s dangerous condition, with no acquisition supplied. What distinction matters?
- Safety-enforcement condemnation differs from an eminent-domain taking
- It must be probate
- It is automatically a road taking
- It always transfers title immediately
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Safety-enforcement condemnation differs from an eminent-domain taking
The same word can describe different actions. Read whether the government is enforcing safety rules or acquiring a property interest.
9. A public improvement charge is allocated to properties specially benefited by a sewer extension. Which label best fits the supplied facts?
- Escheat
- Public special assessment
- A broker licence fee
- Private condominium dues
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Public special assessment
The stated public improvement and special-benefit pattern distinguishes this charge from general revenue taxation or a private association assessment.
10. An original exercise supplies final taxable EAV of $200,000 and a rate of $7.50 per $100, with no other charge or credit. What tax results?
- $150,000
- $15,000
- $2,000
- $1,500
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. $15,000
$200,000 ÷ 100 × $7.50 = $15,000. The rate and base are expressly supplied, not actual local quotes or an instruction to multiply market value without the assessment steps.
11. What does ad valorem mean in the property-tax setting?
- Based on value
- Only a flat fee per owner
- An automatic transfer of title
- Based on a person’s age alone
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Based on value
Value is the basis of an ad valorem tax. Applicable assessment, equalisation, exemption and rate rules determine the actual calculation.
12. Which phrase matches the opening lien-date rule in Illinois Section 21-75?
- Only after an owner dies
- Only at the eventual tax deed
- From January 1 in the year the taxes are levied
- Only after the final delinquency notice
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. From January 1 in the year the taxes are levied
Use the statute’s levy-year wording. This is not a complete tax-sale or competing-federal-lien opinion, and the lien is not itself ownership.
13. An intestate Illinois estate has a legally entitled surviving spouse. What follows from the absence of a will alone?
- All estate claims disappear
- It does not establish escheat
- The county assessor acquires a deed
- The State Treasurer automatically owns all land
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. It does not establish escheat
The applicable succession branch and other facts still matter. No will is different from no legal taker.
14. Facts expressly satisfy Section 2-1(h) for intestate Illinois real estate in Champaign County. Which destination applies to that land?
- The federal government
- Champaign County
- The decedent’s broker
- The State Treasurer in every case
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Champaign County
The land destination is the county in which it is located. Personal-estate categories and administration requirements are separate; do not infer immediate title without process.
15. A condominium board imposes a private roof assessment. Does that fact alone establish a governmental public special assessment?
- Yes, every use of assessment is a public tax
- No; identify the private association and its authority
- Yes, the board becomes the county collector
- Yes, roof work always invokes eminent domain
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. No; identify the private association and its authority
A private association charge is different from the public special-assessment category. Its own governing instruments and applicable statutes need analysis.
16. Why is an ordinary unclaimed-property custody program different from the Illinois land-escheat example?
- Custody for owners or heirs differs from the stated county land succession
- The owner’s absence proves death
- Every bank account is real estate
- Every unclaimed account transfers county land title
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Custody for owners or heirs differs from the stated county land succession
The Illinois Treasurer’s identified I-Cash program describes custodial holding for owners or heirs. Do not turn an unclaimed account into proof of death or absence of statutory heirs.
17. The part taken is stipulated at $30,000 as part of the whole. The separate, legally compensable remainder decline is $370,000 to $355,000. With no other adjustments, what total follows?
- $30,000
- $45,000
- $15,000
- $75,000
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. $45,000
The separate remainder loss is $15,000. Add it once to the $30,000 part value for $45,000. The facts expressly exclude overlap, offsets and other components; this is not an appraisal opinion.
18. The supplied whole-before value is $400,000 and the after-remainder value is $355,000, already including the stipulated partial-taking loss. Should another $30,000 part value be added to that $45,000 difference?
- Yes, every taking requires two identical awards
- No; that would count the part twice
- Yes, because all before-and-after math ignores the part
- No; compensation must always be zero
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. No; that would count the part twice
The setup expressly says the $45,000 difference includes the stipulated loss. Adding the same $30,000 again would double count it. Use the definition of each supplied component.
19. An Illinois project is urgent. Does urgency alone authorise quick-take possession before final compensation?
- Yes, filing any complaint transfers every interest
- Yes, a verbal announcement is enough
- Yes, any public project can take first without process
- No; applicable authority and the required findings, deposit and court order still matter
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. No; applicable authority and the required findings, deposit and court order still matter
Quick-take is a particular authorised procedure, not a general urgency exemption. A preliminary compensation figure or deposit alone is not a complete authority or title decision.
20. A valid, effective will expressly gives the parcel to a capable charity. No spouse or known kindred survives and no competing issue is supplied. Does the lack of family alone make that parcel escheat as intestate land?
- Yes, only relatives can receive property
- No
- Yes, the State Treasurer always overrides wills
- Yes, every charitable gift is invalid
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. No
The facts expressly supply an effective disposition of this parcel. Do not treat the absence of family as the absence of every lawful taker or ignore the difference between disposed-of and intestate property.
Common questions
What are the four government powers over real property?
The usual exam mnemonic is PETE: police power, eminent domain, taxation and escheat. It is a classification aid. A public special assessment is a related taxation-and-benefit topic; condemnation is a procedure, and inverse condemnation is an owner’s claim. They are not additional letters in PETE.
How many government-rights questions does PSI promise?
The public outline names taxes and special assessments in nationalII.A.1 and eminent domain, condemnation and escheat inII.A.2. The entire Land Use Controls domain, including government and private controls, has five scored national broker questions. It does not guarantee five questions on this page or one on each PETE power.
What is police power in real estate?
It is public authority to regulate for the permitted health, safety and welfare purposes, including zoning and building controls under applicable law. Identify the particular body’s authority and procedure. It does not mean a broker, police officer or private association can impose any land-use restriction merely by using the label.
How do police power and eminent domain differ?
A use regulation differs from authorised compulsory acquisition of a protected property interest. Title transfer is not the only taking issue: an easement or physical appropriation may matter. A regulatory label does not automatically avoid compensation, and a value decline does not automatically prove a compensable taking. Actual constitutional and statutory conditions remain important.
What is the difference between eminent domain and condemnation?
Eminent domain is the power; condemnation is the legal exercise process. An ordinary voluntary government purchase is not automatically a condemnation case. An unsafe-building condemnation concerns a different safety-enforcement use of the word, so read what the public body is actually doing.
Who can exercise eminent-domain authority?
The actor needs actual enabling authority and must meet applicable public-use and other limits. The Illinois public-use provision limits power; it is not itself a universal grant to every public or private entity. Do not assume either that a claimed public benefit is enough or that every authorised actor must acquire the entire fee title. The precise project and delegated powers matter.
What is inverse condemnation?
It is the owner’s claim alleging that government took a protected property interest without using the ordinary acquisition procedure or paying required compensation. The owner brings the claim, but filing it does not prove liability. Physical occupation, flooding and use restrictions have their own causation, rights and constitutional questions; not every adverse effect produces an award.
Does Illinois protect property that is damaged as well as taken?
Illinois Constitution articleI,section 15 uses taken or damaged for public use with just compensation as provided by law. The phrase is broader than teaching only a formal deed transfer, but is not a promise that every incidental loss, traffic change, business disappointment or value decline is compensable. Apply the particular property right and legal rule.
What is the difference between property tax and a special assessment?
A general property tax supports public revenue under its value and levy system. A public special assessment concerns a particular improvement and specially benefited property. An association’s private special assessment is a different setting. Local authority, benefit, allocation and procedure still matter; the label alone does not validate a charge.
Are assessment, levy, rate and tax bill the same thing?
No. Assessment concerns the property’s value under the system; a levy is the taxing body’s requested revenue; the applicable rate is used with the taxable base to extend the tax. Equalisation, exemptions, property categories and local rules can matter. Do not treat market value, assessed value and final taxable EAV as interchangeable or assume every Illinois property has one universal assessment percentage.
When does the Illinois property-tax lien begin?
The opening paragraph of Section 21-75 says from January 1 in the year the taxes are levied, with the specified tax, penalties, interest and costs. This is different from teaching that the lien first arises only when a payment becomes delinquent. The statutory lien, collection process, redemption and eventual title questions are distinct. This guide does not resolve every federal-lien priority or a private tax-sale file.
Does dying without a will cause automatic escheat?
No. Apply intestate succession and any effective nonprobate transfer first. A surviving spouse, descendants or other qualifying kindred can take under the applicable rules. Even an estate with a will can have intestate property if the will does not effectively dispose of it. The actual asset, disposition, estate claims and statutory takers must be identified.
Where does qualifying Illinois real estate escheat?
Under Section 2-1(h), the qualifying intestate land escheats to the county where it is located when the stated no-spouse and no-known-kindred branch applies, after the required estate-claims analysis. Personal estate has different statutory categories and destinations. Do not send all property to the State Treasurer or use the owner’s residence county as the land rule. Administration and required legal process remain separate.
Are these official PSI questions or a readiness test?
No. These are original teaching scenarios based on the public outline and identified primary sources. They are not recalled or predicted PSI questions, and a high percentage on this set is not a validated readiness measure. Explain the affected interest, action, procedure and missing condition before checking the answer.
How do I avoid double counting partial-taking compensation?
Label what each supplied number measures. If the problem gives a value for the part as part of the whole and a separate compensable remainder loss, add the nonoverlapping components as instructed. If its whole-before and after-remainder difference already includes them, do not add the part again. Reasonable cure evidence, legally relevant benefits and other adjustments require their own rules; a cure estimate is not automatically extra compensation. The example here expressly stipulates what is recoverable and excludes other adjustments.
Does quick-take mean an Illinois public body can simply take first?
No. The actor and project need the applicable quick-take authority. The prescribed process includes the relevant court findings, preliminary compensation, required deposit and taking order, with title or possession tied to the court’s order and conditions. A preliminary amount is not the final award. Urgency, an offer letter or a filing alone does not establish all these requirements; the detailed condemnation guide addresses the separate procedural provisions.
Is Illinois land escheat automatic once nobody answers a notice?
Do not infer that result from silence alone. The asset and succession branch, estate claims, required administration and Escheats Act process matter. The Act also has particular later-claim provisions with their own eligibility and timing conditions. This page does not give every claimant the same number of years or decide a private estate, notice, judgment or later claim.
What sources and dates does this review cover?
The review distinguishes identified Illinois provisions, selected current federal taking principles, the public PSI outline and general official assessment guidance. The IDOR system publication identifies January 2026; an older statute or opinion can remain relevant without being amended this October. Earlier actual primary readings are identified as reuse. The linked provisions support the particular distinctions taught here, rather than determining the outcome of a private case. The page does not claim a complete case-law, tax-sale or probate audit.
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Official sources and scope
The factual review distinguishes national outline vocabulary, Illinois statutes and constitutional provisions, federal taking principles and general assessment guidance. Fresh readings and explicit reuse of earlier actual primary readings are recorded in the audit. Source-access limits remain disclosed. The October 2026 review date is not a new effective date or approval of a particular taking, tax bill, title or estate.
- PSI June 24, 2026 booklet: National II.B and related private controls
- FHWA: governmental special assessments and local benefits
- Illinois Department of Revenue: local administration of property tax
- Illinois Constitution article VII: home-rule scope, limits and non-home-rule powers
- Illinois Constitution article I, sections 2 and 15: due process, equality and compensation
- 65 ILCS 5/11-13-1: municipal zoning powers, including use and building controls
- Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021), majority opinion pages 4 to 7 and 17 to 20: physical appropriation, use restrictions and limits
- 735 ILCS 30/5-5-5: public-use limits and actual enabling authority
- 735 ILCS 30/10-5-60: value, date and project influence
- Illinois Pattern Civil Jury Instructions 300: identified valuation instructions
- 735 ILCS 30/20-5-5: authorized quick-take motion
- 735 ILCS 30/20-5-10: required findings and preliminary evidence limits
- 735 ILCS 30/20-5-15: preliminary deposit and taking order
- 65 ILCS 5/11-31-1: separate unsafe-building enforcement powers
- 35 ILCS 200/21-75: property-tax lien date
- IDOR PTAX-1004, January 2026: property-tax cycle and calculation
- 755 ILCS 5/2-1: descent, distribution and asset-specific destinations
- 755 ILCS 5/4-14: intestate estate despite a will
- 755 ILCS 20: Escheats Act judicial process and later claims
- Illinois Treasurer I-Cash: custodial unclaimed property
- 765 ILCS 1005/1: express ownership and general default
This is exam preparation, not advice for a specific transaction. State law and the applicable facts control. Our editorial and corrections process explains how to report an issue.