East Lake Fork Special Drainage District v. Village of Ivesdale

These consolidated cases raise the question of whether the General Assembly has the power, under the Illinois Constitution of 1970, to exempt from drainage-district assessment public highways, streets and alleys.

The objectors in each case are units of local government owning or controlling highways, streets or alleys which have been assessed by the respective drainage districts, respondents herein. Respondents are drainage districts organized under the Illinois Drainage Code (Code) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 42, par. 1 — 1 et seq.). Each district had in effect an annual maintenance assessment…