and consent of the senate) appoint the commissioners of any such park; and the commissioners now in office under any such act of the general assembly shall transfer all money, books, papers, property and effects to the persons so appointed, as soon as they shall be qualified; and the terms of all such commissioners now in office shall cease and end with such appointment and qualification. The commissioners so appointed shall hold their offices for the term of five years and until their successors are duly appointed and qualified. All vacancies shall be filled in the same manner. statement. 18. The said commissioners shall, during the month Commissioners of April, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, and to make annual annually thereafter, submit to the mayor of the city, or president of the board of trustees of the town in which said parks or any portion thereof may be located, a detailed statement, either written or printed, showing the amount of moneys received and expended on account of such parks, and such statement shall be preserved by such mayor or president in the files of his office. APPROVED June 16, 1871. 1871. AN ACT to enable corporate authorities of towns to levy a tax to improve pub- In force July 1, lic parks and boulevards and to provide for the extension of boulevards, and regulating the duties of park commissioners, and limiting the period within which they may be paid salaries. Annual tax not exceeding SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That in any town which is now or hereafter shall be included within the three per cent. limits of any city in this state, in which a board of park commissioners shall exist, having authority by law to acquire land and the appurtenances in trust for the inhabitants of such town, and of a division or part of such city, and for such parties or persons as may succeed to the rights of such inhabitants, and for the public, as public promenade and pleasure grounds and ways, but not for any other use or purpose without the consent of a majority, by frontage, of the owners of the property fronting the same, and without the power to sell, alienate, mortgage or incumber the same, the corporate authorities of such town shall have the power to levy and collect annually a tax not exceeding three (3) mills on the dollar, of the taxable property in such town, according to the valuation of the same as made for purposes of state and county taxation, to be used and expended by such park commissioners in governing, maintaining and improving such parks and boulevards or pleasure ways and paying other necessary and incidental expenses incurred in Annual estimate of the rate necessary. and about the management of such park and boulevards: Provided, that the aggregate amount levied under this or any other act shall in no single year exceed eighty thousand dollars. 2. Such board of park commissioners shall annually, on or before the first day of December, in each year, transmit to the corporate authorities of such town an estimate in writing of the rate or percentage of tax necessary to raise money sufficient to pay the cost of governing, maintaining and improving such parks and boulevards, and the other necessary and incidental expenses to be incurred in and about the management of such parks and boulevards during the next succeeding year; and the corporate authorities of such town, if they, or a majority of them, decide to levy such tax, shall immediately certify to the county clerk of the county in which such town shall be located, the rate or percentage of tax by them levied for the purposes herein provided, and it shall be and is hereby made the duty of the county clerk to whom such estimate shall be furnished to set down in the general tax warrant of the year for the collection of state and county taxes, in a separate column, to be styled a "park tax," a tax in amount equal to the sum resulting from the rate or percentage so levied by said town officers, upon the real and personal property within such town, according to the assessment roll as returned for the purposes of state and county taxation next preceding the estimate herein authorized, and shall set down in such column the amount of tax chargeable to the several persons, corporations, lots or parcels of land liable for taxes in such town according to such rate or percentage, and the collector shall proceed to collect the same in such manner as is now or may hereafter be provided by law for the collection of state and county taxes, and all of the provisions of law in respect to collection of state and county taxes, and proceedings to enforce the same, which are now in force, or which may be hereafter enacted, so far as applicable, shall apply to said taxes; and as fast as such tax shall be collected by the collector or other officer receiving the same, it shall be paid over to such board of park commissioners on the joint receipt of the president and treasurer of such commissioners, or such other officers of such board of commissioners as they may appoint to receive the same. Corporate au- 3. Be it further enacted, That the town supervisor, clerk and assessor of such town be and they are hereby designated and constituted the corporate authorities of such town, and they, or a majority of them, may levy the tax herein authorized in the manner and for the purposes herein provided; and in case of failure, for any cause, of any town to elect such officers or other corporate authorities, then such park commissioners shall be and they are hereby made and constituted the corporate authorities of such town, thorities designated. and shall in all things succeed to and perform the duties and have the power of the corporate authorities of su town for the purposes of this act. 84. Be it further enacted, That in cases where, by virtue of any act or acts heretofore passed, public parks or boulevards have been designated or established in two or more towns contiguous to each other, and where the commissioners, authorized by such act or acts to locate such park or boulevards, shall desire to connect the same by a boulevard or pleasure-way so as to form a continuous improvement, it shall and may be lawful for such commissioners, within their respective towns, to select and designate the line of such boulevard or pleasure-way, and to acquire title to the lands which shall be necessary to make such connection by purchase or otherwise; and in case such commissioners cannot agree with the owner or owners, lessee or occupant of any of the real estate so selected, they may proceed to procure the condemnation of the same, in such manner as is now or may be hereafter prescribed by any general law for the condemnation of lands for public use, and the cost and expense of acquiring title to such land shall be levied upon and collected by special assessment upon the property deemed specially benefited by the location of such boulevard or pleasure-way, in the same manner as the costs of other lands for parks and boulevards is assessed under the several acts creating such boards, and such boulevards or pleasure-way shall be under the control and management of such park commissioners, the same as other public grounds by them established. to make annual $5. Be it further enacted, That such park commissioners Commissioners shall annually make a report to the board of auditors of report. their respective towns, of their actings and doings, and shall particularly set forth in such report the amount of money by them received from all sources, and how the same has been expended. Report of re § 6. The said park commissioners shall annually, on or ceipts and exbefore the fifteenth day of January of each year, submit a penditures. detailed report of their receipts and expenditures during the preceding years, to the legislative body in the town or city in which said parks are located. and compensation. 87. No park commissioner shall receive any salary or Salary compensation for personal services, or be directly or indirectly interested in the purchase or sale of park lands or park bonds, and all transactions in violation of this section, shall be null and void, and the commissioner so offending shall forfeit his office, and upon proof of the offense the governor shall immediately appoint his successor: Provided, that the provisions of this section shall not take effect or be in force until December thirty-first, eighteen hundred and seventy-two. APPROVED June 16, 1871. PAUPERS. In force April AN ACT to legalize the action of counties which have voted for the support of paupers by townships. 17, 1871. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That in Township sup- all cases where counties have voted for the support of the port legalized. Emergency. paupers of such counties by townships, and the said counties have acted in good faith for the term of five years, under the authority of said vote, in the support of paupers by townships, the acts of said counties and the townships thereof shall be and the same are made legal and binding, notwithstanding any informality in the time or manner of holding the said elections, or in recording or preserving the records of the same. 2. An emergency having arisen by reason of the acts of said counties as above stated, whereby this act shall take effect immediately: therefore this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. APPROVED April 17, 1871. PENITENTIARY. In force July 1, AN ACT in relation to the penitentiary at Joliet, to be entitled "An act to provide for the management of the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet." the prison. 1871. general SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the peniThe Joliet pen- tentiary at Joliet, in the county of Will, until otherwise proitentiary to be vided by law, shall be the general penitentiary and prison of this state, for the confinement and reformation as well as for the punishment of all persons sentenced by any court of competent jurisdiction in this state, for the commission of any crime the punishment of which is confinement in the penitentiary, in which the person so sentenced shall be securely confined, employed at hard labor, and governed in the manner hereinafter directed. Duty of the governor. § 2. The governor shall visit the penitentiary semiannually, and oftener if he shall deem it best, for the purpose of examining its affairs and its condition. He shall inquire into all alleged abuses, or neglect of duty, and may make, in connection with the commissioners, such alterations in the general discipline of the prison as he may deem necessary. penitentiary 3. The officers of said penitentiary shall consist of three officers of the commissioners, one warden, one deputy warden, one chaplain, one physician, one steward, one matron, and as many turnkeys and watchmen as the warden and commissioners shall deem necessary. Commissioners § 4. The commissioners shall be appointed by the gov- to be appointed. ernor, and be subject to removal by him, at his discretion, which removal and the cause thereof shall be reported by the governor to the next general assembly. Those now in office shall continue to hold such offices during the terms for which they were respectively elected, unless sooner removed by the governer. At the expiration of the terms of office for which the present commissioners have been elected, and biennially thereafter, there shall be appointed by the governor one penitentiary commissioner, who shall hold his office for the term of six years, unless sooner removed therefrom. Appointments to fill vacancies occasioned by death, resignation or removal from office, shall be made for the residue only of such term or terms, and the governor shall have power to fill any vacancy existing at the time this act takes effect. lain and physi § 5. The warden, chaplain, and physician, shall be Warden, chapappointed by the commissioners, to hold their respective cian. offices for the term of three years, unless sooner removed by said commissioners, and said commissioners are hereby authorized to remove said warden, chaplain, or physician, at their discretion. § 6. No person shall be appointed to the office of penitentiary commissioner who is a contractor in the penitentiary, or the agent or employè of any such contractor, or who is interested, either directly or indirectly, in any kind or branch of business in said penitentiary, or who shall at the time hold any other office under the laws of this state; and no such commissioner shall hold any other office or accept any appointment under this or any other law of this state during his continuance in office as such commissioner. be Who may commissioners. commissioners. 7. Each of said commissioners shall take and sub- Bond of the scribe the oath or affirmation prescribed by section twentyfive, article five, of the constitution of this state; and each of the said commissioners shall enter into a bond to the People of the State of Illinois, in the penal sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the governor and auditor of public accounts, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duty as penitentiary commissioner; and the governor and auditor of public accounts, upon discovering any default or delinquency on the part of said commissioners, or either of them, or upon the application of any surety on said bond, shall |