103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4708
 
Introduced , by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

615 ILCS 5/5 from Ch. 19, par. 52
615 ILCS 5/5a new
615 ILCS 5/25 from Ch. 19, par. 72
 Amends the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters includes all rights recognized by State or federal law, including the rights set forth in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the federal navigational servitude, and all rights arising under the public trust doctrine, which shall be understood and applied in a manner consistent with the spirit of the Act to maximize the full and free enjoyment of State waters by the public. Provides that any segment of a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part of the year, or that is actually so used, shall be deemed navigable, and shall be open to public access and use, unless the contrary is proven in litigation by a preponderance of the evidence. Provides that public uses in such waters shall include boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, and wading. Requires the Department of Natural Resources to protect such public uses against interference or encroachment as provided in the Act. Provides that no action or inaction by the Department of Natural Resources shall create a presumption, in any civil or criminal litigation, against the navigability of any waterway segment. Provides that the public right to access and use navigable waters shall be subject to specified protections and limitations, a violation of which shall be punished as otherwise provided by law, and, if likely to continue, enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Provides that nothing in the Act shall limit the right of any person to challenge the legality of alleged interference with the public right to access or use navigable waters in any appropriate civil or criminal litigation.


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A BILL FOR
 
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1 AN ACT concerning transportation.

2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
3represented in the General Assembly:

4 Section 5. The Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act is amended 
5by changing Sections 5 and 25 and by adding Section 5a as 
6follows:

7 (615 ILCS 5/5) (from Ch. 19, par. 52)
8 Sec. 5. The Department of Natural Resources shall upon 
9behalf of the State of Illinois, have jurisdiction and 
10supervision over all of the rivers and lakes of the State of 
11Illinois, wherein the State of Illinois or the people of the 
12State have any rights or interests, and shall make a list by 
13counties of all the waters of Illinois, showing the waters, 
14both navigable and non-navigable, that are found in each 
15county of the State, and if the same are lakes, the extent of 
16the shore lines and the amount, extent and area of the water 
17surface; and in a like way, if the same are rivers, and 
18specifying whether the same are navigable or non-navigable, 
19and whether they have or have not been meandered.
20(Source: P.A. 89-445, eff. 2-7-96.)

21 (615 ILCS 5/5a new)
22 Sec. 5a. Public right to access and use navigable waters. 
 
 
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1 (a) The public right to access and use navigable waters 
2includes all rights recognized by State or federal law, 
3including the rights set forth in the Northwest Ordinance of 
41787 and the federal navigational servitude and all rights 
5arising under the public trust doctrine, which shall be 
6understood and applied in a manner consistent with the spirit 
7of section 26 to maximize the full and free enjoyment of State 
8waters by the public. Any segment of a lake, river, or stream 
9that is capable of supporting use by commercial or 
10recreational watercraft for any substantial part of the year, 
11or that is actually so used, shall be deemed navigable under 
12such laws for purposes of public access and use, unless the 
13contrary is proven in litigation by a preponderance of the 
14evidence. Public uses in such waters shall include boating, 
15tubing, fishing, swimming, and wading. The Department of 
16Natural Resources shall protect such public uses against 
17interference or encroachment as hereinafter provided in this 
18Act. No action or inaction by the Department of Natural 
19Resources shall create a presumption, in any civil or criminal 
20litigation, against the navigability of any waterway segment.
21 (b) The public right to access and use navigable waters 
22shall be subject to the following protections and limitations, 
23a violation of which shall be punished as otherwise provided 
24by law, and, if likely to continue, enjoined by a court of 
25competent jurisdiction:
26  (1) no person shall interfere with or obstruct public 
 
 
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1 access to and use of navigable waters for any lawful 
2 purpose;
3  (2) any person lawfully using navigable waters may 
4 touch the beds of bodies of water and adjacent riparian 
5 lands as reasonably needed for the person's lawful 
6 activities, but any portage on dry land shall be made in a 
7 safe manner that is (i) most direct, (ii) least invasive, 
8 and (iii) closest to the water;
9  (3) any person lawfully using navigable waters shall 
10 refrain from littering or otherwise creating a public or 
11 private nuisance; and
12  (4) any person using navigable waters shall not enter 
13 or exit from a point that is not public property or a 
14 public roadway without the express or implied permission 
15 of the occupant or owner of the property. 
16 (c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit or 
17supersede the power or authority of any unit of local 
18government to regulate or police public property under the 
19ownership or control of the unit of local government, 
20including, but not limited to, any segment of a lake, river, 
21stream, or any other navigable waters, and the ingress or 
22egress thereto, or to otherwise alter the power or authority 
23granted to that unit of local government under any State law. 
24 (d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to alter 
25the permit requirements and programs set forth in this Act or 
26to expand the responsibilities of the Department of Natural 
 
 
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1Resources under Sections 11, 22, and 23b of this Act