CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

IN RELATION TO CITY GOVERNMENTS.

ARTICLE IV.

SECTION 4. No person who has been, or hereafter shall be, convicted of bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime, nor any person who has been or may be a collector or holder of public moneys, who shall not have accounted for, and paid over, according to law, all such moneys due from him, shall be eligible to the general assembly, or to any office of profit or trust in this state.

$ 22. The general assembly shall not pass local or special laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say: for

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incorporating cities, towns, or villages, or changing, or amending the charter of any town, city or village.

Creating, increasing or decreasing fees, percentage or allowances of public officers, during the term for which said officers are elected or appointed.

§ 23. The general assembly shall have no power to release, or extinguish, in whole, or in part, the indebtedness, liability, or obligation of any corporation, or individual, to this state, or to any municipal corporation therein.

§ 28. No law shall be passed which shall operate to extend the term of any public officer after his election or appointment.

ARTICLE V.

SECTION 25. All civil officers, except members of the general assembly, and such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of

to the best of my ability.

according

And no other oath, declaration, or test shall be required as a qualification.

ARTICLE VIII.

SECTION 3. Neither the general assembly, nor any county, city, town, township, school district, or other public corporation, shall ever make any appropriation, or pay from any public fund whatever, anything in aid of any church or sectarian purpose, or to help, support, or sustain, any school, academy, seminary, college, university, or other literary or scientific institution, controlled by any church or sectarian denomination whatever; nor shall any grant, or donation of land, money, or other personal property ever be made by the state, or any such public corporation, to any church or for any sectarian purpose.

ARTICLE IX.

SECTION 9. The general assembly may vest the corporate authorities of cities, towns, and villages with power to make local improvements by special assessments, or by special taxation of contiguous property, or otherwise. For all other coporate purposes, all municipal corporations may be vested with authority to assess and collect taxes; but such taxes shall be uniform in respect to persons and property, within the jurisdiction of the body imposing the

same.

$10. The general assembly shall not impose taxes upon municipal corporations, or the inhabitants or property thereof, for corporate purposes, but shall require that all the taxable property within the limits of municipal corporations shall be taxed for the payment of debts contracted under authority of law, such taxes to be uniform in respect to persons and property, within the jurisdiction of the body imposing the same. Private property shall not be liable to be taken or sold for the payment of the corporate debts of a municipal corporation.

§ II. No person who is in default, as collector or custodian of money or property belonging to a municipal corporation, shall be eligible to any office in or under such corporation. The fees, salary or compensation of no municipal officer who is elected or appointed for a definite term of office, shall be increased or diminished during such term.

$ 12. No county, city, township, school district, or other municipal corporation, shall be allowed to become indebted in any manner or for any purpose, to an amount, including existing indebtedness, in the aggregate exceeding five per centum on the value of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment

for state and county taxes, previous to the incurring of such indebtedness. Any county, city, school district, or other municipal corporation, incurring any indebtedness as aforesaid, shall, before or at the time of doing so, provide for the collection of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on such debt as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof within twenty years from the time of contracting the same. This section shall not be construed to prevent any county, city, township, school district, or other municipal corporatiom, from issuing their bonds in compliance with any vote of the people which may have been had prior to the adoption of this constitution in pursuance of any law providing therefor.

ARTICLE XI.

SECTION 4. No law shall be passed by the general assembly granting the right to construct and operate a street railroad within any city, town or incorporated village, without requiring the consent of the local authorities having the control of the street or highway proposed to be occupied by such street railroad.

MUNICIPAL SUBSCRIPTIONS TO RAILROADS, ETC.

No county, city, town, township or other municipality, shall ever become subscriber to the capital stock of any railroad or private corporation, or make donation to or loan its credit in aid of such corporation: Provided, however, that the adoption of this article shall not be construed as affecting the right of any such municipality to make such subscriptions where the same have been authorized, under existing laws, by a vote of the people of such municipalities prior to such adoption.

STATUTES

RELATING TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE INCORPORATION OF CITIES AND VILLAGES.

Adopted by the City of Chicago, April 23d, 1875.

ARTICLE I.

THE ORGANIZATION OF CITIES.

I. How city may adopt this act.] That any city now existing in this state may become incorporated under this act in manner following: Whenever one-eighth of the legal voters of such city, voting at the last preceding municipal election, shall petition the mayor and council thereof to submit the question as to whether such city shall become incorporated under this act, to a vote of the electors in such city, it shall be the duty of such mayor and council to submit such question accordingly, and to appoint a time and place, or places, at which such vote may be taken, and to designate the persons who shall act as judges at such election; but such question shall not be submitted oftener than once in four years.

2. Notice of Election.] § 2. The mayor of such city shall give at least thirty days' notice of such election, by publishing a notice thereof in one or more newspapers within such city; but if no newspaper is published therein, then by posting at least five copies of such notice in each ward.

3. The ballot-result.] § 3. The ballots to be used at such election shall be in the following form: "For city organization under general law;" or, "Against city organization under general law." The judges of such election shall make returns thereof to the city council, whose duty it shall be to canvass such returns and cause the result of such canvass to be entered on the records of such city. If a majority of the votes cast at such election shall be for city organization under general law, such city shall thenceforth be deemed to be organized under this act, and the city officers then in office, shall thereupon exercise the powers conferred upon like officers in this act, until their successors shall be elected and qualified.