City council members approved an ordinance Tuesday to file eminent domain actions against property owners who refuse to sell portions of their property to the city for an expansion and widening of Reed Station Road.

The city, working with funding from the Illinois Department of Transportation, plans to expand and widen Reed Station Road between Illinois Route 13 and Old Illinois Route 13, said City Manager Allen Gill.

‘This will benefit businesses located along this segment of road as well as allow for an expansion of future business,’ Gill said.

Eminent domain gives the city the right to seize private property as long as it pays the owners. Condemnation is putting eminent domain into action.

To obtain the necessary property, the city provided appraisals and offers to landowners whose property fell in its proposed area of expansion. It continues to negotiate with landowners concerning three parcels of land, Gill said.

Mayor Brad Cole said taking condemnation actions against the landowners is a last resort if their negotiations do not succeed.

‘We do think they will, and we certainly hope they will,’ Cole said. ‘This is not something that the council frivolously undertakes.’

The council also approved a contract to demolish buildings at 201 N. Washington Street, formerly Tuscan Lodge, and 204 E. Jackson Street, formerly the Fish Market.

Brandy Oxford can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 274