(a) When the right (i) to take private property for public use, without the owner’s consent, (ii) to construct or maintain any public road, railroad, plankroad, turnpike road, canal, or other public work or improvement, or (iii) to damage property not actually taken has been or is conferred by general law or special charter upon any corporate or municipal authority, public body, officer or agent, person, commissioner, or corporation and when (i) the compensation to be paid for or in respect of the property sought to be appropriated or damaged for the purposes mentioned cannot be agreed upon by the parties interested, (ii) the owner of the property is incapable of consenting, (iii) the owner’s name or residence is unknown, or (iv) the owner is a nonresident of the State, then the party authorized to take or damage the property so required, or to construct, operate, and maintain any public road, railroad, plankroad, turnpike road, canal, or other public work or improvement, may apply to the circuit court of the county where the property or any part of the property is situated, by filing with the clerk a complaint. The complaint shall set forth, by reference, (i) the complainant’s authority in the premises, (ii) the purpose for which the property is sought to be taken or damaged, (iii) a description of the property, and (iv) the names of all persons interested in the property as owners or otherwise, as appearing of record, if known, or if not known stating that fact; and shall pray the court to cause the compensation to be paid to the owner to be assessed.
     (b) If it appears that any person not in being, upon coming into being, is, or may become or may claim to be, entitled to any interest in the property sought to be appropriated or damaged, the court shall appoint some competent and disinterested person as guardian ad litem to appear for and represent that interest in the proceeding and to defend the proceeding on behalf of the person not in being. Any judgment entered in the proceeding shall be as effectual for all purposes as though the person was in being and was a party to the proceeding.
     (c) If the proceeding seeks to affect the property of persons under guardianship, the guardians shall be made parties defendant.
     (d) Any interested persons whose names are unknown may be made parties defendant by the same descriptions and in the same manner as provided in other civil cases.
     (e) When the property to be taken or damaged is a common element of property subject to a declaration of condominium ownership, pursuant to the Condominium Property Act, or of a common interest community, the complaint shall name the unit owners’ association in lieu of naming the individual unit owners and lienholders on individual units. Unit owners, mortgagees, and other lienholders may intervene as parties defendant. For the purposes of this Section, “common interest community” has the same meaning as set forth in subsection (c) of Section 9-102 of the Code of Civil Procedure. “Unit owners’ association” or “association” shall refer to both the definition contained in Section 2 of the Condominium Property Act and subsection (c) of Section 9-102 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
     (f) When the property is sought to be taken or damaged by the State for the purposes of establishing, operating, or maintaining any State house or State charitable or other institutions or improvements, the complaint shall be signed by the Governor, or the Governor’s designee, or as otherwise provided by law.
     (g) No property, except property described in § 3 of the Sports Stadium Act, property to be acquired in furtherance of actions under Article 11, Divisions 124, 126, 128, 130, 135, 136, and 139, of the Illinois Municipal Code, property to be acquired in furtherance of actions under Section 3.1 of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, property to be acquired that is a water system or waterworks pursuant to the home rule powers of a unit of local government, property described as Site B in Section 2 of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Act, and property that may be taken as provided in the Public-Private Agreements for the South Suburban Airport Act belonging to a railroad or other public utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission, may be taken or damaged, pursuant to the provisions of this Act, without the prior approval of the Illinois Commerce Commission.
     (h) Notwithstanding subsection (g), property belonging to a public utility that provides water or sewer service and that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission may not be taken or damaged by eminent domain without prior approval of the Illinois Commerce Commission, except for property to be acquired by a municipality with 140,000 or more inhabitants or a regional water commission formed under Article 11, Division 135.5 of the Illinois Municipal Code or a municipality that is a member of such a regional water commission, only in furtherance of purposes authorized under Article 11, Division 135.5 of the Illinois Municipal Code, and limited solely to interests in real property and not improvements to or assets on the real property belonging to a public utility that provides water or sewer service and that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Illinois Commerce Commission. This subsection does not apply to any action commenced prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly under this Section or Section 11-124-5 or 11-139-12 of the Illinois Municipal Code.