Here’s the latest development in the ongoing life imitating art saga of the the use of eminent domain to take property in St. Johannes Cemetery for the expansion of O’Hare airport.
Appellate court hears arguments in O’Hare cemetery case is a short news report about last week’s oral argument in the appeal by the “living relatives” from an Illinois state court’s judgment dismissing their claims.
Listen to the argument recording here (be warned if you aren’t streaming the file, it’s a massive 140mb mp3).
The issues, as framed by the living relatives, are two-fold: first, whether the religion-based claims were barred by res judicata, and second, whether the taking is for a public use. It’s often very difficult to discern the scope of the issues from oral argument, so we’re not sure what the specific questions presented are. Nonetheless, the argument is worth a listen.