Evanston’s state lawmakers said Monday that with only one day left for the Illinois General Assembly to vote on bills, the quick-take legislation to allow Evanston to take over the Olive Mountain and Osco Drug properties is unlikely to pass this session.

Legislative approval for Evanston’s quick-take amendment was scheduled for discussion on the Senate floor Monday, but was not addressed and probably will not be heard Tuesday either, according to state Sens. Carol Ronen (D-Chicago) and Kathy Parker (R-Evanston).

“We only have a couple of days, so we’re only looking at larger issues,” Parker said.

If the quick-take legislation is not heard Tuesday, it may not face a full Senate vote again until May, Ronen said.

The amendment was designed to enable Evanston City Council to take possession of Olive Mountain Restaurant and Osco Drug properties — needed for the proposed Sherman Plaza development — without an agreement with property owners.

“I don’t know if it’s a setback or not,” said Ronen, who authored the amendment in November. “It would have been highly unusual to have it called [for a vote] so soon, anyway.”

Ronen said the legislation will move forward, but must start at the beginning, passing through hearings and committees before coming up for a full Senate vote again. The next session begins Wednesday.

“For the Evanston portion, it will be good because then it will be part of a larger package next session,” Ronen said. “We would hope to finish the process by the end of May.”

But Parker said she has other plans for the bill.

“I want you to make clear that I am strongly opposed to this,” she said.

Parker said she will introduce a new bill in the next session to reform “quick-take” so it reflects the original purpose of the action, which is development for public use.

The state has the power to take property for public use — a power known as “eminent domain.” Illinois’ quick-take law is based on the eminent domain law passed shortly after the adoption of the 1870 Illinois Constitution.

The law states that when a state or local government seeking private property for a public purpose, such as a road or other public improvement, cannot agree with the property owner on just compensation, a court can allow government to take over the property first and settle with the owner later, according to the Illinois General Assembly’s Research Unit.

City Council, like other local authorities, needs permission from the Illinois legislature to use the eminent domain power — usually granted in the form of a specific legislative amendment.

The debate over Evanston’s amendment centers around whether the Sherman Plaza development qualifies as “public use.”

Developer Thomas J. Klutznick & Co.’s proposed $110 million development includes a Sears department store, 135,000 square feet of specialty retail space, a luxury senior apartment building and a new parking garage — the development’s linchpin for eminent domain. The plaza was originally scheduled to open in 2002.

“This whole (quick-take) process is very controversial,” Parker said. “No one wants to take from private (owners) and give to private (developers).”

But Ronen maintains the development qualifies as public use.

“We’ve got a city garage that’s deteriorating. It’s an area that needs an infusion of investment,” Ronen said. “Forty-three percent of the property is owned by the city, and the development is 100 percent for the public good.”

City Council lobbyist Lawrence Suffredin, Sherman Plaza developer James Klutznick and Olive Mountain Restaurant co-owner Hassib Blan all were in Springfield on Monday, meeting with legislators and waiting for discussion of the quick-take amendment.

“That poor restaurant owner was scared to death,” Parker said.

Blan and his wife are staying in a Springfield hotel, awaiting further word on the future of his restaurant. The issue could still come up for vote Tuesday. If the amendment passes, he will be forced to give up possession of 814 Church St. to the city almost immediately.

Though rumors have been circulating that he and Klutznick have reached an agreement, he said no such thing is even in the works.

“I’m not optimistic about the whole thing,” he said.

Blan presented a petition with 1,700 signatures, many of which were NU students’, to Parker, Ronen and other lawmakers .

Music sophomore Alan Benson, who signed the petition in December, said: “My roommates and I come to Olive Mountain quite often — we live around the corner, and I think it would be very unfortunate if they closed it.”

Blan said Monday that if the amendment passes and he is forced to close Olive Mountain, he will not be able to re-open at another location because he said he cannot afford to pay lease rates at a new location.