Semmerling v. Hajek

James Semmerling, the Lake Villa Township highway commissioner and the plaintiff and counterdefendant in this case (plaintiff), appeals from an order of the circuit court of Lake County declaring the width of a prescriptive public highway easement to be the width of the paved road plus six feet on either side. On appeal, plaintiff argues that the easement should be extended to include the entire 40-foot width of the right-of-way designated on the subdivision plat. In particular, plaintiff claims that (1) the Illinois Highway Code (Code) (605 ILCS 5/1 — 101 et seq. (West 1992)) requires that…