A local lawmaker’s bill is now law and it aims to correct a local legal quagmire. The bill lets the City of Ottawa use property near the Illinois and Michigan Canal for public and private business developments. State Representative Lance Yednock says the property in question had deed restrictions that were never made clear. 

Yednock’s bill, 3165 removes all restrictions imposed by the I & M Canal Development Act and those imposed in the deed for canal lands conveyed to Ottawa. The city, says the Democrat lawmaker, will now be able to use the property as the city sees fit.