Illinois v. Kentucky

Background

The case is between the State of Illinois and the Commonwealth of Kentucky over where their shared boundary lies. A Special Master prepared a geodetic report with detailed maps and Joint Exhibits 3 through 26, filed with the Court on December 2, 1994. The Court received and adopted that report, granted the Special Master’s motion for compensation, and discharged the Special Master.

Reasoning

The Court’s core action was to accept the Special Master’s geodetic description and fix the boundary line between Illinois and Kentucky as described in Joint Exhibits 3 through 26. The decree requires that copies of the report and exhibits be filed with the Clerk of this Court, the Secretaries of State for both states, and the County Clerks in the listed Illinois and Kentucky counties. The Court awarded the Special Master $114,708.16 to be paid equally by the parties and ordered that the overall costs of the proceeding be divided between the states as the Special Master recommended. The Court also confirmed that both states have concurrent jurisdiction over the Ohio River.

Real world impact

This order finalizes where the state line runs for the counties named and creates official records of the boundary maps at state and county offices. County officials, landowners, and state agencies in the listed counties will use these filings for property records and local administration. Each state must pay half of the Special Master’s fee and share the other costs as directed, and the Special Master’s work is complete and discharged.