Standing up for Property Rights in Illinois
Kirk Denz and his wife, Cindy, closed on their house on Wooster Lake just 8 hours before their son was born three-and-a-half years ago—and like most lake property owners, they looked forward to enjoying the water with their family and friends.
In September of 2005, however, a local government representative chose to side with a certain group of lake property owners—residents of a condominium complex who offered plenty of potential votes—who wanted to use the lake solely for floating or fishing. The result: a proposed no-wake ordinance for Wooster Lake, peddled to surrounding villages in order to obtain an inter-governmental agreement and appease these voters.
For riparian landowners—those who own property that borders on a watercourse—the law equally protects the property rights of each resident by allowing various forms of recreation. The no-wake ordinance, however, would have prevented residents from speed boating, waterskiing, wave running, jet skiing, and any other recreational activities that exceeded the 5 mph speed limit.
“Some private citizens were to benefit by private property owners’ losses, which were simply taken by the government without any compensation or approval,” Denz said. “It’s senseless big government epitomized.”
Denz and other Wooster Lake residents fought back to protect their rights, and in March of 2006, they filed a lawsuit against the village. With the guidance of the Sam Adams Alliance, they formed an interlake organization, the Riparian Owners of Illinois (ROI), to battle this issue and any further maneuvers local bureaucrats might attempt. And, in January 2007, after uncovering multiple attempts of property rights abuse on other Lake County lakes, ROI sought help from 61st District House Representative JoAnne Osmond, who has sponsored and submitted a bill to curb these abuses. The bill has passed the Local Government Committee, and now it moves on to the Illinois House of Representatives, where, if passed, will then go to the Illinois Senate.
When these citizens joined together and made their voices heard, the Village backed off—for now. But this freestanding citizen group will be crucial in sustaining the fight to protect property rights in Wooster Lake. By joining together, they’ll be prepared for future challenges—and will be better equipped to stand up for their rights.
