Page 20 2024 Logan County Spring Farm Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 2024 To respond to mounting concerns about the increasing trend of foreign ownership of Illinois land, State Senator Sally Turner (R-Beason) recently introduced new legislation to protect the state’s critical farmland by prohibiting property ownership within Illinois by noncitizens from nations that have been deemed hostile by the federal government. This bill, known as Senate Bill 2668, amends the “Property Owned by Noncitizens Act.” A synopsis of the bill found online shares the details. The proposed bill provides that: “a prohibited foreign-party-controlled business shall not acquire by grant, purchase, devise, descent, or otherwise any interest in public or private land in the State. SB 2668 an important strategy for protecting Illinois farms “a prohibited foreign-party controlled business entity in violation of the provisions has 2 years to divest of the public or private land, and if a prohibited foreign-party-controlled business entity does not divest the public or private land, the Attorney General shall commence an action in the circuit court within the jurisdiction of the public or private land. “a prohibited foreign party shall not acquire by grant, purchase, devise, descent, or otherwise any interest in agricultural land in the State regardless of whether the prohibited foreign party intends to use the agricultural land for nonfarming purposes. “a prohibited foreign party who is a resident alien of the United States shall have the right to acquire and hold agricultural land in the State upon the same terms as a citizen of the United States during the continuance of his or her residence in the State, but if a prohibited foreign party is no longer a resident alien, he or she shall have 2 years to divest of the agricultural land, and that if the prohibited foreign party does not divest of the agricultural land as required, the Attorney General shall commence an action in circuit court within the jurisdiction of the agricultural land. “violation of the provisions by either a prohibited foreign-party-controlled business Continued --
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