III. PRESENT CONDITIONS IN ILLINOIS.

Introductory. Local government in Illinois is now regulated by a considerable number of constitutional provisions and a more. numerous aggregation of laws scattered through the statutes. In addition to the laws on the more important local governments, cities and villages, counties and township organization,-there are other important chapters in the Revised Statutes which must be considered, including those on courts, drainage, elections, parks, revenue, roads and bridges, and schools, and a considerable number of shorter chapters on still other subjects, such as various county officers, fees and salaries, and justices and constables. Altogether some thirty chapters in the Revised Statutes bear directly on different phases of this subject; while there are many further provisions in other chapters. All of the more important chapters of the Revised Statutes have been frequently amended, and also supplemented by numerous acts dealing with particular topics. A good number of acts apply only to certain classes within a general type of local districts; while other laws are optional, and have been adopted only by some districts; and in some cases such laws apply in fact only to a single district.

The result is a confusing mass of legislation, which, while less bulky than the special legislation before 1870, is nevertheless highly complex; and the task of extracting even the main features of the existing arrangements is one of no little difficulty.

There are three main types of local government districts: counties, townships and school districts. Every part of the state is at the same time in a county, a school township and a school district; and every part of the state is also in a civil township or a road district. In addition there are about a thousand cities, villages and incorporated towns; and also a considerable number of drainage, park, high school, and other special districts. All of these municipal districts overlap each other; and the result is a more complicated and confusing network of local areas and local authorities than in any other state. Still further, there are several classes of other districts-senatorial, judicial and congressional-, composed for the most part of groups of counties, for electoral and judicial purposes. Each of these classes in turn overlaps the other; and adds further to the complexity of the electoral and governmental organization.

Moreover, there is no official record of all of these local districts. Many districts are formed by local proceedings, recorded only in the county, or in some cases only in the records of minor local authorities.

Some confusion is caused by the different meanings for the terms town and township. The congressional township is a geographical area used in the land surveys, and as such has no political significance; but is in most cases (but not always) co-terminous with the school township. The civil town, under the township organization law, is more often different in area from the school and congressional township. Incorporated towns are villages organized under special charters before 1870.

County Government.

County Areas and County Seats. The state constitution contains a series of detailed restrictions as to the creation of new counties, changes of county boundaries and removal of county seats; and these are supplemented by statutory provisions on the same subject, and for the union of counties. In fact no new counties have been created since 1859, and no counties have been united.

There are 102 counties in the state, 29 with less than 400 square miles, the minimum area for new counties, and several with less than 200 square miles, while half a dozen counties are more than 1,000 square miles in area. In population, the counties range from 7,000 to more than 2,500,000; 50 counties had less than 25,000, and 17 had more than 50,000 population in 1910.

A good many difficulties in the operation of county government arise from these wide variations in area and population. The county officers required by the constitution are more than are needed in many of the small counties; and more efficient and economical administration could be secured by combining the functions of two or more officials, or by giving some officials jurisdiction over several of the smaller counties, or by uniting several small counties. In other populous states, most counties are both larger in area and have more population than many counties in Illinois.

The increase in population in Illinois since 1870 has been in the larger counties with urban population, while the small counties have decreased in population since 1900.

Referendum votes are required by the constitution and by statutes for a number of county matters: for the organization of new counties, for changes in boundaries or for the union of counties, for issuing bonds, for levying county taxes above the constitutional limit of 75 cents on the $100, for adopting or discontinuing township organization, or for establishing a tuberculosis sanitarium. In counties under township organization such votes are required on the question of township support of paupers; and in counties not under township organization. for the construction of public buildings, or the establishment of a county normal school.

County government is regulated to a considerable extent by constitutional provisions, and in further detail by statutory legislation. But it cannot be said that any definite principles of organization have been followed. There is an elective county board, and a considerable

list of elective administrative and judicial officers; but the distribution of powers does not follow at all closely the traditional American theory; nor is there even a nominal chief executive corresponding to the governor or mayor.

County Boards. Each county is a body politic and corporate; and its powers as such are exercised by a county board in one of three distinct types. In counties not under township organization (now 17 in number) the state constitution provides for "The Board of County Commissioners," consisting of three members elected at large, one each year. For Cook County, the constitution provides for a board of fifteen commissioners, ten elected from the city of Chicago and five from the towns outside of the city; and by statute these commissioners are now elected for a four-year term, and a member is elected as president of the board with special powers.

For the eighty-four counties under township organization, the county law provides for boards of supervisors, elected by towns at the town meetings in April for terms of two years. The number of supervisors varies with the number of towns in the county, and assistant supervisors are also elected from the larger towns (one for each 2,500 population over 4,000). The size of these county boards ranges from 5 in Putnam county, to 53 in LaSalle county. In eighteen counties there are 30 or more members.

The large boards of supervisors have been supported on the theory that they form the legislative branch of county government. But they have practically no legislative power; and for their administrative functions their, size makes them unwieldy and ineffective. Most states have county boards of from three to seven members; and only five or six states have such large county boards as in Illinois.

Replies to inquiries sent to county officials by a committee of the General Assembly in 1912, showed a marked difference of opinion. as between the two main types of county boards in Illinois. A majority of replies were in favor of the small boards of commissioners; and the proportion on this side was greater among the replies from the more populous counties with the larger boards of supervisors. This situation seems to indicate the desirability of an intermediate form of county board organization, between the small boards of three, and the larger boards of supervisors; and it would seem advisable for the constitution to permit such intermediate types in counties which wish them.

All three types of county boards have the same general powers, though each class has some additional powers, all of which are set forth in detail in the statutes. They have charge of county buildings and other property; they levy county taxes; they control county finances to some extent; they have limited powers as to roads, bridges, ferries, and county ditches and drains; they maintain poor farms, jails and workhouses, and may grant pensions to the blind and to dependent mothers; they have some powers in connection with elections, fill vacancies in county offices, prepare jury lists, and may grant certain bounties and rewards; they may make appropriations for county fairs and farmers' instit ates; and organize townships or road districts.

The small boards of county commissioners formerly had larger powers in connection with highway matters. They also act as boards of health and boards of review of assessments, designate overseers of the poor and appoint a few minor local officials. But their functions are not in any large degree more important than those of the boards of supervisors.

These enumerated powers are limited in extent; and fall far short of giving the county boards complete control over county administration. The powers of the elective county officers are also conferred by statute, and some of the officers have also ancient common law powers. The county boards regulate the salaries of these officers, within certain limits; but have no effective control over them. Nor is any county officer vested with general authority over the others, as a chief executive.

The small boards of county commissioners and the boards of supervisors each elect a chairman. Regular meetings are prescribed by statute (five for the county commissioners, and two for the boards of supervisors); but special meetings are also authorized and are held frequently. Boards of supervisors usually hold four or five meetings a year; and county commissioners in some counties meet every month, and sometimes more frequently. In 1911-12, the Morgan county board of commissioners held 12 meetings, which aggregated 110 days in session.

Much of the work of the large boards of supervisors is done by means of committees. Such boards in the larger counties have from twelve to more than twenty committees. In Will county there are 26 committees for the year 1919-20.

County Officers. The state constitution provides for the election in each county of a county judge, state's attorney, sheriff, county clerk, clerk of the circuit court, treasurer, coroner and county superintendent of schools. Under the constitution and statutes, a county superintendent of schools is elected in all counties, a recorder of deeds in counties with over 60,000 population, and a probate judge in counties with over 70,000. By statute, provision is further made for the election of a county surveyor in all counties, a clerk of probate in counties over 70,000 population, and (by Act of 1911) a county auditor in counties with a population between 75,000 and 300,000.

All of these county officers are elected for four-year terms at the general November elections. County judges, probate judges, county clerks, sheriffs, treasurers and county superintendent of schools are elected in the middle of the governor's term; while state's attorneys, clerks of the circuit courts, recorders, coroners, surveyors and county auditors, are elected at the same time as the governor. No person elected as sheriff or treasurer is eligible for reelection for four years after the term for which he has been elected.

The election of this list of from nine to thirteen county officers (from four to seven at one election) adds a good deal to the

length of the ballot. If it is desired to shorten the county ballot, changes in the constitutional provisions will be necessary.

The county judge is both a judicial and an administrative officer. He has a limited jurisdiction in civil cases, and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts in appeals from justices of the peace and police magistrates. He also has important powers in tax matters, in supervising elections and other administrative affairs. In most counties he further has jurisdiction in matters of probate; but in counties of over 70,000 population, this business is vested in a separate probate court, with a separate probate judge and probate clerk.

The state's attorney is primarily a public prosecutor in criminal cases, acting in this respect distinctly as an agent of the state government. He also acts as legal advisor to the county board and county officers. In view of his principal functions, it may be urged that this officer should be appointed by the governor or attorney-general, as the direct representative of the state government. It may also be said that there seems little need for separate officer for each of the smaller counties; and that one person might act for two or more of such counties. Under section 30 of Article VI, state's attorneys can be removed only on prosecution and conviction for misdemeanor in office. It may become desirable to provide for some other method, as by the governor in the case of sheriffs.

The county clerk has the greatest variety of duties; and from his official relations to most branches of county government, he is tending to become the de facto chief administrative officer of the county. He is custodian of the county records, clerk (and in most counties also accountant) for the county board, and clerk of the county court. He has important duties under the primary and election laws, and in the assessment of property and the extension and collection of taxes. He issues hunters' and marriage licenses, and has in addition numerous other duties. By statute the county clerk might be given some of the legal powers of a chief executive.

The county treasurer is primarily custodian of county funds, but in counties under township organization is also county collector of taxes (for the state, county and other local districts). Since the abolition of township collectors by act of 1917 in counties of less than 100,000 inhabitants, all general property taxes are collected by this officer. He is also supervisor of assessments in counties under township organization, and assessor in counties not under township organization.

The clerk of the circuit court keeps records of the proceedings of the circuit court in the county, and in most counties he acts also as recorder of deeds. In counties of more than 60,000 population a separate recorder of deeds is elected. By act of 1897 for the registration of land titles, the recorder of deeds is also registrar of land titles in counties adopting the act.