Eminent Domain abuse in mount pleasant

When the Foxconn project was announced, local officials immediately assured the public that eminent domain actions would take place only as "a last resort."

However, three days after the Foxconn development was announced, residents living in what was now the development zone received letters addressed from the Village of Mount Pleasant informing them that their homes would be taken through eminent domain for road construction for Foxconn - even residents who didn't live on the roadway were notified.

Wisconsin law "gives municipalities the power to acquire private property using eminent domain as long as there is fair compensation and the property will be used for a public purpose. This is typically for road improvements, or sometimes to take control of dilapidated property."

Using eminent domain to benefit a private, foreign corporation is in conflict with current Wisconsin law. But, Village attorneys created a scheme to test what they saw as a loophole in the State's law: declare the entire Foxconn zone as blighted.

While, Village officials tried to claimed they had not used eminent domain against property owners, county records showed they had used it over twenty times.