Eminent domain is frequently abused when officials wielding governmental power decide that they need private property for something or other. Back in 2005, the Supreme Court infamously put its stamp of approval on an expansive reading of eminent-domain authority, holding that it may be used when officials decide they want property for a “public purpose.” (The Constitution reads “public use.”)
We are used to hearing about local politicians grabbing property from owners, but as the Martin Center’s Chris West points out in today’s article, public-university officials can also employ it. He writes:
The process for approving university use of eminent domain varies by state. Some states have independent review boards, whereas others only require approval from a university board of trustees or a few campus officials for eminent domain claims. Multiple calls by the Martin Center to university officials for clarity on eminent domain went unanswered. The process for how universities make an eminent domain claim isn’t transparent, and even basic records and statistics on how colleges use eminent domain are non-existent beyond scattered news reports.
As is so often the case with eminent domain, officials with big ideas for creating a more grandiose city or campus end up evicting small owners from their land. Among the examples West sites is Northeastern Illinois University’s use of eminent domain to take property on a street in Chicago and transfer it to a private student-housing company for new living quarters for students.
I agree with West’s conclusion:
The use of eminent domain by universities is a classic example of the Field of Dreams mentality that is far too common among higher education administrators: ‘If you build it, they will come.’ Unless state legislatures restrain this practice, colleges will continue to use government power while the public remains in the dark.
But will legislators rein in a power that public university officials clearly want?