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Property Keyed to Merrill
Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. Illinois
Facts
In 1869, the Illinois legislature passed an act. The act gave the Illinois Central Railroad Company (Company) title to submerged lands located in the Chicago harbor. The submerged lands included in the act encompasses over 1,000 acres, which the public uses for navigation, commerce, and fishing. The attorney general of the State of Illinois, Plaintiffs, brought suit against Company, in representation of the people of Illinois. Plaintiffs requested the court to declare Plaintiffs’ title to the submerged lands and the Plaintiffs’ exclusive right to develop the Chicago harbor by building docks, wharves, piers, and other innovations. Company alleged it had the right to build innovations in the harbor for its own purposes. The parties appealed the case to the Supreme Court of the United States to determine whether the legislature had the authority to grant Company title to the submerged lands and, as a result, the ability to regulate the harbor’s navigable waters.
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