Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/actualgovernmentOOchilrich ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS BY MARY LOUISE CHILDS Teacher of History and Civics, Evanston Township High School NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1917 S1^" Copyright, IQ14, 1917, by The Century Co. TO THE GIRLS AND BOYS OF MY CIVICS CLASSES WHOSE INTEREST AND LOYALTY HAVE BEEN THE INSPIRATION OF THEIR TEACHER 37170C FOREWORD FOR THE TEACHER How may a civics teacher make vital the study of State and local government in IlHnois? What are the essential facts with which the immature pupil should be familiar at the end of the course? What method of instruction will most quickly arouse his interest and give him the best train- ing in citizenship? An earnest attempt has been made in this brief text book to suggest an answer, in part, to these important questions. The first indispensable requisites are enthusiasm and active interest in the subject on the part of the teacher. A bored, indifferent teacher can never kindle interest or en- thusiasm in the minds of high-school pupils of civics, or guide them into the broad, far-reaching fields of citizenship. The essential facts of government, particularly State and local, are dry as sawdust unless vitalized by a live teacher through connecting them at every step with the actual government in the community in which the pupils live. Among the necessary devices to arouse interest and catch the attention is the bulletin board. Try a large one covered with dark green felt and hang it in a conspicuous place. If your pupils have access to Chicago dailies, they will be keenly interested in illustrating their note-books from the cartoons. A very interesting, instructive commentary on local and State government can be made by these cartoons. Pupils soon learn to select wisely, avoid the vulgar or simply viii FOREWORD FOR THE TEACHER grotesque, and choose the most effective ones. Try an 8 X lo notebook, loose leaf, with manila sheets added to the note paper for the cartoons and newspaper clippings. If you " shingle " the cartoons — slip one under the other, and paste along upper edge only — five or more can be put on one page of the manila sheet. A " camera squad " to conduct a camera tour through the pupils' ward or village arouses much interest. Their kodaks of alleys and back yards, garbage cans, paper- and refuse-littered streets and parkways, the city " dump " oi^ the crematory, should be mounted and hung in the civics room where all may share the results of the " camera tour." Have them show praiseworthy conditions as well as things to criticize. The newspaper clippings should always have noted on them name of paper, date, and an underscore in red ink or blue pencil to show why the item was cut out. This imder- score saves much written explanation and is helpful in training a pupil's judgment of the essential thing in a news- paper article. Official stationery and all kinds of official seals serve a useful purpose. A letter from some official makes that officer seem a real human being instead of a noun in a text- book, and to make this vital, human connection between text-book and actual government is the most essential part of our work. Every report, annual message, budget, ordinance, legal paper, that can be secured — and their name is legion — is grist for the civics mill. But the human element, the meeting with officials, hear- FOREWORD FOR THE TEACHER ix ing them explain the duties of their office, the visits to in- stitutions and buildings where they actually see the govern- mental wheels in motion — these are the things that seem to make the deepest impression on a pupil's mind. You may secure this vivid human illustration in several ways: by excursions of all the class (but if the class is large, all can not hear and see equally well, although they enjoy the trips in large numbers) ; by small groups under a pupil leadtr who makes the arrangements for the party and is responsible for the group, each pupil to make an oral or written report of the trip in his own section. This method brings good results in studying your own town and saves the time of officials — sometimes the latter get a bit im- patient if the individual pupils go to them, but they are glad to give some time to a group. Another method is to bring the official, as the mayor or health commissioner, to the class for a talk on their duties. If a stereopticon can be used and slides shown in illustration of the talk, so much the better. The following excursions were given during one year for the civics class in a suburb of Chicago: A session of the Chicago council and of their own council ; to the county and Federal buildings and the city hall in Chicago; to the county infirmary at Oak Forest ; to Lockport via the Drain- age Canal in the boat owned by the sanitary district and courteously loaned the class for that day; to the State prison at Joliet; for the boys alone, to the House of Cor- rection; for the girls alone, to Hull House and the Crane Nursery to show how a famous social settlement is helping X FOREWORD FOR THE TEACHER to make good citizens of aliens; a carefully chosen session of the United States district court, the docket for that day being planned six weeks in advance through the kindness of Judge Landis so the pupils might see a trial by jury; a trip to the Naval Training School at Lake Bluff and to Fort Sheridan. These excursions include the illustrative work for local, State, and National Government. They mean much work for the teacher, and every detail must be carefully planned if they are successful. But they are of great value in making vivid and practical the civics work and are wxll worth all they cost in time and effort. De- bates and reports on suitable articles in current magazines will of course find a place in the work. One main object has been kept constantly in mind in writing this text book: First and always to direct the pupil to the actual government in his own locality. The theory embodied in the statute and ordinance is one thing; the practical working out of the law is frequently quite a different matter ; but the practical method by which the law is enforced — or not — is the vital matter to every citizen and the side of government too often neglected in our civics teaching. There is no subject taught in the high-school course where mere routine, text-book recitation, is so deadly as in civics. Therefore every effort has been made to make practical and vital the teaching of actual govern- ment within the State of Illinois. The writer is greatly indebted to many officials for per- sonal interviews, letters, and reports. Every courtesy has been extended to her in the work by officials in all depart- FOREWORD FOR THE TEACHER xi ments of the State and local governments. Special ac- knowledgment is made to the officers and director of the Chicago Bureau of Public Efficiency for permission to use their exceedingly valuable charts and reports. Mrs. Catharine Waugh McCulloch very kindly read part of the manuscript and gave the writer the benefit of helpful sug- gestions and criticisms. No doubt many errors will he discovered, due to the short time allowed in preparation and the pressure of school-room duties. Much is purposely omitted that usually finds place in a civics text book. But the purpose of the book as expressed in its title has been ever in mind. It IS not intended in any sense for a manual, and only points a way, tested for many years in large classes of pupils in a suburban high school, to arouse keen interest in the vital matters of home government. A Russian Jew said to the writer recently, " You are a patriot because you teach of the government!" H all of us to whom are given the honor of guiding these junior citizens of Illinois in their first steps in citizenship could always be mindful of that fact, would not our work be ennobled immeasurably? On our faithful, intelligent ef- forts will depend in large degree the progress Illinois will make in wise, humane, efficient government. We can so vitalize and clothe with flesh the dry bones of civic facts that our pupils will count their study of State and local government the most human, intensely alive subject in all the high-school curriculum. Is not the end worth all the effort? FOREWORD TO THE EDITION OF 1917 No practical method of keeping a textbook in civics up to date has yet been evolved. A " loose-leaf " collection of printed lessons easily and economically exchangeable for nev^ ones each year as governmental facts and devices for teaching the same evolve seems to be the only possible method of keeping pace w^ith civic progress. But no one has yet come forw^ard with such a series of lessons suitable for Illinois and therefore our textbooks on state and local government must be reprinted at frequent intervals if we would keep them within sight of present conditions. From the printer's standpoint — an important one — it proved impossible to incorporate in the text the principal changes in city, county and state government within Illinois made during the last three years, or to include all these changes in footnotes. Therefore they have been gathered mainly in Appendix D at the end of the volume where it is hoped teachers, pupils and others using the book will avail themselves constantly of these collected notes and additions to the text. Illinois has been making progress during the last three years and particularly in the social legislation written on her statute books. The new law for the care of the feeble-minded, the great increase in parks and playgrounds, the wider use of school buildings and equipment for the social needs of their dis- tricts and the steady growth of the movement to " pull Illi- nois out of the mud " through a fine system of highways XIV FOREWORD TO THE EDITION o'#* 1917 are all proofs of the dawn of a new social conscience in our state. When Illinois' greatest need is met, — a new constitution adapted to twentieth-century conditions, — no reprint of a textbook like this one will do, but there must be an entire revision based on the new instrument of government. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Cities and Villages . 3 II Government of Chicago 16 III Towns and Townships in Illinois .... 54 V IV County Government in Illinois 65 V The Public Pocketbook : How It Is Filled . 88 VI Elections and the Ballot 99 VII Judicial Trials and the Jury System . . .113 VIII State of Illinois: Physiography and History 126 V- IX The General Assembj-y 138 X Executive 151 XI State Judiciary , 159 XII Public Education in Illinois 165 XIII The Merit System in Illinois 175 XIV State Charity Service 188 . XV Amendment of the Illinois Constitution . . 198 XVI Illinois Moving Forward 201 Appendix A — Reference List of Books and Pam- phlets Valuable for Study of " Actual Govern- ment IN Illinois " 215 Appendix B — Valuable Publications of Civic Or- ganizations in Chicago 217 Appendix C — Vital Statistics Law 219 Appendix D — General Notes 222 Index 231 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS CHAPTER I CITIES AND VILLAGES References : 1. Revised Statutes (1915-16), ch. xxiv. (This general law for cities and villages covers 229 pages in' the Revised Statutes of Illinois, not including the Session Laws for 1913-15. 2. Greene: Government of Illinois, pp. 101-106. 3. Garner: Government in the United States, pp. 25-56; Govern- ment of Illinois, pp. 55-60, rev. ed. The city corporate touches the life of the people more intimately than any governing body in the world. To speak of just one factor in its varied relations with the peo- ple, notice its streets, the " arteries through which flow the life-blood of the city — trade and traffic." " Here persons of all ages and all tastes go to meet one another, to talk over the affairs of the day, to be entertained, to eat," to drink, to inspect shop windows, to do marketing, to buy and sell merchandise, and to perform a thousand offices which the needs of the city life make profitable, healthful, or agreeable." " Then consider the influence of the streets on the habits of the people. In the congested areas of the city, the people must spend a large portion of their leisure 3 4 /. : ACTfJAL GOyfiRNMENT IN ILLINOIS on the streets, because their homes are too small for com- fort, and if the city allows the streets in these sections to remain unkempt and dirty, the homes bordering them will reflect the dirt and grime of the city highway, inevitably much more, should that * highway ' be an unpaved alley." (Beard: American City Government, pp. 242-244.) And the city streets represent only one small segment of the great circle of the city powers surrounding city homes. Are you familiar with the poster, " Madame, Who Keeps Your House ? " issued by the Woman's City Club of Chi- cago, 116 South Michigan Avenue? If not, make its ac- quaintance, for this famous poster has nearly circled the globe since it was published 4 years ago to illustrate pic- torially the intimate relation existing between the city hall and the home. " The poster contains a large * C ' made up of fifteen pictures illustrating the city departments that touch the home ; in the center are the words, * City Hall,' surrounded by a small * c ' made up of the names of the city departments illustrated. Below are these words : * The homely activities of your daily life make necessary these departments in the government of the city in which you live. Its interest in you is personal and kindly. Make your in- terest in it vital and helpful. Educate yourself in civic affairs.' " Know your own city ! What is the organization in Illinois of this city govern- ment that afifects the daily life of its citizens so powerfully? Cities. There are over one thousand cities and vil- lages in Illinois. The present State constitution of 1870 forbids special legislation of any kind except for Chicago in a few definite cases, provided by recent amendment to the constitution. Therefore, in 1872, the General Assembly passed a law known as the Cities and Villages Act, for the CITIES AND VILLAGES 5 government of municipalities in the State, if they chose to come under its provisions. Only about seventy-five cities, towns, and villages preferred to retain their original special charters granted by the Legislature before 1870. The rest by vote have adopted the Cities and Villages Act, and it has therefore become their charter. This general law covers about two hundred forty pages in the Revised Statutes of Illinois and carefully details what a city may do, and pro- vides the general framework of city government. Much ingenuity has been displayed by the legislators in framing laws needed for a city like Chicago and a county like Cook yet not wanted in other cities and counties of Illinois. The favorite device is to put cities and counties into classes according to population and so arrange the groups that Chicago and Cook County will each come into a class by itself. " For cities having over 350,000 popu- lation " (only Chicago), or ''counties having over 125,000 population " (only Cook), is frequently the wording of some law intended to apply to Chicago and Cook County alone. So far the supreme court has generally sustained such laws on the ground of necessity, although they plainly violate the spirit of the State constitution while obeying the letter. Organization of a City. Any territory in Illinois not less than four square miles in area, having at least one thousand inhabitants, may petition the county judge (pro- bate judge if the county has one) for a special election to vote on a city organization. City Officers. If carried, the people elect a mayor, aldermen^ clerk, treasurer, city attorney, and police magis- trate. The wards into which the city is divided must num- ber not less than three or more than thirty-five, depending on population, and two aldermen are chosen from each 6 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS ward, one each year. The term of office is two years ex- cept that of the police magistrate, who is elected for four years. The aldermen are paid from three to ten dollars per session except in Chicago.^ There are over a hundred powers granted the council in the Cities and Villages Act, so its power is ample to do whatever is necessary for the city. The mayor and other officers have the same powers given under Chicago.^ The mayor, with the consent of the council, may appoint a city collector, to have charge of special assessments, special taxes for local improvements levied on property benefited, as for paving a street or putting in a sewer ; a commissioner of public works to care for streets, alleys, sewers, water system, garbage collection, city buildings; corporation counsel to be legal adviser of the city officials ; comptroller to have general oversight of all city accounts and expendi- tures; chief of police, health commissioner, Hre marshal, whose names explain their work. If the city so orders through a special vote, a civil service commission of three members is also appointed by the mayor with the consent of the council to conduct the examinations required for all city employees, like policemen and firemen, who are placed in the classified service. Any of these appointed officers may be elected if the council pass an ordinance to that effect. All the officers allowed for governing a city in Illinois are named in the General Municipal Act of the State. Commission Plan of City Government. By a law in effect in 19 lo, cities not over 200,000 in population may, through a special election, adopt the commission plan of government, electing a mayor and four commissioners at large to have charge of the city. This act is applicable to ^ Chap, ii, pp. 20-22. CITIES AND VILLAGES 7 all the cities in the State except Chicago, and about thirty odd have adopted it, Springfield, Rock Island, Elgin, De- catur, Cairo, and Waukegan, among the number. The five commissioners elected serve for four years and are called the council. The commissioner knov^n as the mayor pre- sides at all their meetings and has charge of the department of public affairs. There are five departments created by the law: (i) Public Affairs, (2) Accounts and Finances, (3) Public Health and Safety, (4) Streets and Pubhc Im- provements, (5) Public Property. The five commissioners determine by majority vote v^hat duties shall be vested in each department and which com- missioner shall be its head. The mayor does not have the veto power. The council appoints all city officers needed; civil service is provided for all employees. To prevent abuse of power by the commissioners, they may be recalled at any time by a majority vote at a special election. The initia- tive and referendum are also provided to allow the voters directly to initiate and pass any necessary law. All fran- chises granted public service companies must be approved by the people before going into effect. Provision is made to discontinue the commission government if the voters are dissatisfied after trying the plan. The Chautauquan Magazine (Vol. LI) has an excellent symposium on " Commission Government for Cities." In the Debaters' Handbooks is a volume devoted to commis- sion government. City Manager. The most recent innovation in city government is the city manager, an appointed officer who looks after the city's business exactly as a general manager directs the affairs of a private concern. River Forest in Cook County experimented with this new kind of city 8 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS official but petty politics caused him to resign. It is claimed he considerably more than saved his year's salary through careful supervision of the village work. The ex- periment is being watched with great interest and seems full of promise for more efficient city government. Director of Public Safety. Another experiment in municipal government is director of public safety, who has charge of the three principal municipal departments, health, fire, and police. Evanston has experimented with such an official (during 19 13-15), and he worked for fire preven- tion, better sanitary conditions through a clean-up cam- paign, bakeries classified according to cleanliness, and to make every policeman a health officer, so there could be stricter enforcement of all sanitary regulations, (i) This combining the great public safety departments of a city is another step toward simpler municipal government because the chief of police, health commissioner, and fire marshal are put under civil-service rules, and the city gets one re- sponsible officer instead of three. City Courts (Rev. Stat., ch. xxxvii, sec. 240-363. Act amended 1909.) Any city having a population not less than three thousand may establish a special city court if the voters so elect. The jurisdiction of this city court will be the same as the State circuit court. There can be from one to five judges according to population, and the salary is paid from the State treasury. The term is four years and the judge must not be chosen at the same time with other city officers. Why? Nineteen cities in Illinois have adopted this city court. The justices of the peace are retained for petty cases in cities having a special city court; but there is no police magistrate. Village Government. (Rev. Stat. (191 5), chap, xxiv, CITIES AND VILLAGES 9 sec. 178-193.) A village government differs from a city in being more simple and therefore less expensive. It has no wards. Any area, not less than two square miles, con- taining at least three hundred inhabitants, if it is not already within a village or city, may be incorporated as a village by vote of the people at a special election and must there- after remain a village until it has a thousand inhabitants, when it has the privilege, if the voters desire, of changing to a city government. There are now (9161) about eight hundred villages in Illinois. I. Legislative Branch of the Village Government.^ Board of Trustees — a president and six trustees elected for two years with power of a mayor and council in passing the village ordi- . nances. II. Executive and Administrative Officers. 1. President — elected for two years; has same veto power as a mayor. 2. Village clerk — elected for one year. 3. Treasurer, street commissioner, board of health, village marshal, and other administrative officers appointed by the president and board of trustees. III. Judicial Branch. Police magistrate — one only unless more are authorized by special acts. No police magistrate can also act as justice of the peace, although his jurisdiction is the same. OUTLINE GOVERNMENT OF A CITY IN ILLINOIS I. Organization. a. Petition to county (or probate) judge for special election to decide question city government. b. First election city officers: Mayor, aldermen, clerk, treas- urer, attorney, police magistrate. 2 Greene : Government of Illinois, p. 268. 10 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS c. " Cities and Villages Act," passed Legislature 1872, becomes city's charter. Seal is granted by secretary of state at Springfield. II. Boundaries; number of wards and precincts. III. Time of election. IV. Term of office. V. Legislative Department. A. Council composed of mayor and aldermen. 1. Duties. a. Levy taxes. b. Confirm or reject appointments mayor. c. Provide police, fire, health protection. 3. Grant franchises. e. Provide for public highways and sidewalks. f. Provide for street cleaning, lighting; water Sup- ply, garbage removal, etc. 2. Salary. VI. Executive Department. A. Mayor. Who? When elected? 1. Duties. a. Preside council meetings. b. Vote in case of tie. c. Sign or veto ordinances : may veto separate items in appropriation ordinance, or annual budget. Veto overcome by two-thirds vote council. d. Send annual message to council. e. Appoint officers consent council. f. Issue proclamations. g. May pardon any violation of ordinance or remit any fine imposed for such violation. 2. Salary. Find from city budget. B. Clerk. Who? When elected? I. Duties. a. Keep minutes council meetings. b. Keep seal and all important papers. CITIES AND VILLAGES n c. Post ordinances and notices. d. Issue licenses and permits by order Mayor. 2. Salary. C. Treasurer. Who? When elected? Amount of bond? 1. Duties. a. Charge of all city funds except special assess- ments. b. Acts as town collector for general taxes. 2. Salary. D. City Collector. Who? When appointed? Amount of bond ? 1. Duty. a. Receives special assessments or special city taxes for some particular improvement, to be paid by property benefited; as a street paved or sewer put in. Also fees for licenses and permits. 2. Salary. E. Comptroller. Who? When appointed? " Watch-dog of the city treasury." 1. Duties. a. Audits all accounts of treasurer. b. Furnishes estimates expenses for every depart- ment of city government. 2. Salary. F. Commissioner Public Works. Who? When appointed? 1. Departments under his supervision. a. Water works. b. Streets and alleys. c. Walks and cross walks. d. Public parks; playgrounds; parkways. (Some- times controlled by an elected park board.) e. Public buildings, city hall, library, fire and police stations, etc. f. Street lighting. g. Sewers. 2. Salary. 12 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS G. Health Commissioner? Who? When appointed? 1. Duties. a. Inspects water, milk, ice, meat, plumbing. b. Attends to quarantine notices. c. Is responsible for fumigating houses after con- tagious disease. 2. Salary. H. Fire Marshal. Who? When appointed? 1. Duties. a. Charge of firemen, who are often under civil-serv- ice rules. b. Charge of police force needed in any quarter where there is fire. 2. Any salary? I. Chief of Police. Who? When appointed? 1. Duties. a. Keeps the peace and protects all citizens. b. General control of policemen, who are often under civil service. 2. 'Salary. J. Library Directors. Nine. How chosen? 1. Duties. a. To manage free public library. b. To appoint librarian and assistants. c. To purchase all books. d. To make rules and regulations for use of library, 2. No salary. K. Civil Service Commission. Three. How chosen? 1. Duties. a. To conduct examinations for policemen, firemen, library cadets, clerks, and stenographers em- ployed by the city. b. To certify standings of those on eligible list to the appointing officer. 2. Any salary? CITIES AND VILLAGES 13 VII. Judicial Department. A. Police Magistrate. Who? When elected? 1. Duties. a. To try all violations ordinances. b. To examine any case and bind person over to grand jury. 2. Salary. B. City Attorney. Who? When elected? 1. Duties. a. Prosecutes and defends lawsuits for the city. 2. Salary. C. Corporation Counsel. Who? When appointed? 1. Duties. a. Legal adviser for city officers. b. Draws up ordinances, if so requested. c. Draws contracts, leases, deeds, all legal papers for city departments. 2. Salary. ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL NEEDED 1. Copy of Revised Statutes of Illinois, edition 1915 if possible. 2. Copy city charter if one has been granted. 3. Copy of city ordinances. 4. Map of city showing wards and precincts. (Indispensable.) 5. Maps of separate wards. If these can not be had, make your own blue prints from regular map of city. Or use tracing paper to get your separate ward maps. On these mark all government buildings, as fire and police stations, schoolhouses, library station, small parks, and field houses. 6. Get the statistics from the Health Department and make " spot maps " showing where death rate was highest during the last year, and why. These ward maps can be used in various ways to illustrate municipal and social facts. 7. City manual for complete list of officials and their terms. 8. Impression of city seal. 9. Bulletin board for newspaper clippings and cartoons. Illus- 14 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS trate every point possible by some recent fact in your city govern- ment. . Study your local papers to find these illustrations. 10. Have you a camera? Form a camera squad and take a " camera tour " through your ward and the city. Photos of the alleys, parks, waterworks, your city dump, the garbage crema- tory, or the reduction plant will be valuable comments on your city government. PERTINENT QUESTIONS 1. Compare the organization of your city with the one outlined in the text. You should know the name of every elected and ap- pointed official in your city. (2) Why? 2. Make out a list of the services performed by the National, State, and municipal governments respectively. Which govern- ment touches your daily life most closely? 3. Some citizens declare they never vote at a city election; only at the State and National. What is your opinion of such a citi- zen? Give three reasons for your answer. 4. Bryce says that city government is the " blackest spot " in American politics. Why? 5. Why should municipal elections be absolutely non-partisan? How can they be made non-partisan? 6. What societies, clubs, and organizations are at work in your city to make it a better place to live in ? How can you help them ? 7. Does your city have a civil-service commission? H so, what employees are covered by its examinations? 8. What public utilities are owned and operated by your city? If none, then what are the terms made by the franchises granted the private companies furnishing your gas, water, electric light, and street-car service? Do these companies pay the city for the privilege of using the streets, which are the property of the peo- ple? If not, why? How long do these franchises run? 9. How does your city dispose of garbage and all kinds of house- hold and factory waste? 10. What kinds of business does your city license? How would you secure a license? What would you have to pay for it? (Consult the Revised Ordinances.) CITIES AND VILLAGES 15 11. Does your city need a city manager? (3) 12. What are the advantages in the commission plan of city government? What disadvantages? Would it be a good thing for your city? Give reasons. CHAPTER II GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO References : 1. The Chart of the Organization of the Government of Chicago, prepared by Chicago Bureau of Public Efficiency, p. 25. All their charts are of very great value for accuracy. 2. Chicago City Manual, 191 5. 3. Effi.ciency Charts prepared by Civil Service Commission to show organization of all city departments. 4. Rev. Stat., 1915, ch. 24. 5. " History and Gov. of Chicago." Educ. Bi-Mo., Chicago Normal College. Our Civic Creed. " Chicago does not ask us, her citizens, to die for her welfare; she asks us to live for her, and so to live, and so to act, that her government may be pure, her officers honest, and every corner of her territory shall be a fit place to grow the best men and women who shall rule over her." — Adapted from a Wisconsin City. " Where ' we will,' there 's a way." — Chicago's new motto. — From The Tribune. Early History of Chicago. The famous treaty of Greenville (1795) made by the United States with the western Indians, ceded a tract of land six miles square — a congressional township — at the mouth of the Chicago river, to the Government. No use was made of this ces- sion until the winter of 1803, when Fort Dearborn was built at the mouth of the river. A tablet marking the site of the fort has been placed on a building at the foot of Rush Street bridge. The Chicago Historical Society has a good model of the fort. Most of the land once occupied by the 16 GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 17 old fort is now the bed of the Chicago river. There is great difference of opinion over the meaning of the word '* Chicago," but none over its Indian origin. It was prob- ably derived from the Indian word for the " wild onion " that flourished over the prairies and marshes around the lake. Consult J. S. Currey's History of Chicago, Vol. I, pp. 32-34. The first town of Chicago contained less than half a square mile. It lay between State, Madison, Desplaines, and Kinzie Streets. The present city contains 199 square miles (i) and extends over twenty-five miles north and south, and from nine to fourteen miles east and west. The city has grown to this wide territory through various annex- ations. In addition to this surface expansion, Chicago has " partially built itself up out of the marsh and is now about fourteen feet higher than the original level.'* This fact has an important bearing on the ever-present drainage prob- lem and makes it a little easier to provide an adequate sewer system for the city. Chicago was incorporated as a town in 1833 because the United States Government had just removed the last Indians from Illinois, thus throwing open the land around Chicago freely to white settlers. The birthday of the city was March 4, 1837, as its seal testifies. The population was 4,170. Government of Chicago. Because Chicago is now the second largest city in the United States and the fourth in the world — only London, New York, and Paris are larger — and because it contains more than one-third the population of Illinois, every citizen of the State should feel pride in this great city and be interested in knowing how it is governed. i8 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS No Special Charter. The constitution of 1870 for- bids special legislation of any kind. In consequence, the " Cities and Villages Act " was passed by the Illinois Gen- eral Assembly, 1872, and all cities organized since that date come under the provisions of this general law and do not have any separate city charter. Chicago voted to accept this municipal corporation act in 1875 ^^^ th^s S^^^ ^P its charter after forty years' ex- perience with government under various special charters. The Council. Chicago's is one of the best examples in the United States of a powerful city council. It is a council- governed city. This legislative body is made up of seventy aldermen, two elected from each of the thirty-five wards. The ward bodies are determined by population, and the areas differ greatly. About 70,000 people live in a ward since the reapportionment of December 4, 191 1. Get a map of Chicago, with wards and precincts marked, from the Bureau of Maps, in the city hall. Also a separate map of your own ward. The term of office of the aldermen will be four years beginning in April, 19 14, if the voters at that election accept the law passed by the last Legislature increasing the term from two to four years. (2) The mayor presides over the council, but has a vote only in case of a tie. He has much less power than the council, and even the powers he has are limited in several ways by that body. If the personal influence of the mayor is great, he may be able to persuade enough aldermen to vote for ordinances he favors to put them through. But the council can control matters if they will. The greater power is theirs. The municipal act of 1872, many times amended, enumerates over a hundred powers granted a city council. Sessions. The council meets regularly every Monday (3) ' GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 19 afternoon at two o'clock in the council chamber of the city hall. The council sessions are open to the public, and every citizen ought to attend frequently and notice how the alder- men from his ward vote on important ordinances. They are paid $3,000 salary and do their work largely through standing committees. To listen intelligently at a council- meeting one needs to know the regular or routine order of business : 1. Roll call of aldermen by wards. 2. Reading of the minutes of the last meeting. 3. Messages from the mayor and reports from heads of departments. 4. Presentation of new business by wards, including in- troduction of ordinances. 5. Reports from committees. 6. Unfinished business. The Committees. (4) On request you can get from the city clerk a card containing the names of all the aldermen by wards, and all the standing and special committees of the council. Every pupil should have one of these cards for reference. Also get a copy of the proceedings of the latest council meeting. The names of these committees tell their work : Finance, charge of the city budget — for 19 16, $72,384,987. All bills against the city must be approved by this committee and its chairman is the mayor's spokes- man on the floor of the council-chamber. (5) He is paid $6,000 a year and has to give his entire time to this impor- tant work. Committee on local transportation looks after matters of street-car service, such as through routing of the elevated cars and lengthening the platforms in the loop dis- trict; license, judiciary, streets and alleys, building, health, 20 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS fire, police, harbors and bridges, water, taxes, civil service ; gas, oil, and electric light, and elections, complete the list of standing committees. There are three special commit- tees now on bathing beaches and piers, small parks, and compensation. The latter looks after the pay the city receives for franchises, permits, and licenses, or special privileges of any kind granted a corporation or private citizen. As Chicago received nearly one million dollars in revenue in 19 15 from these sources, the committee's work is needed. The Budget. The passing of the appropriation ordi- nance, or city budget (6), in January annually, is one of the most important acts of the council. The budget is based' on the estimates of the comptroller after each item has been thoroughly considered by the finance committee and given their recommendation. The vote of the council on the budget must be by roll call. In fact, the passing of every ordinance requires a roll-call vote. The council is restricted by law to a debt limit of 5 per cent, and a taxation limit of 2 per cent, on the assessed valuation of all the tax- able property in the city. Any expenditure of money at any time also requires the same recorded vote. The dia- gram, " Chicago's Pocketbook," shows how the public pocketbook is emptied. Executive Officers. The Mayor. Chicago elects the mayor, seventy aldermen, the city clerk, and treasurer. " The mayor is elected by the people, to serve the people " for a term of four years. His salary is $18,000 a year. His powers. A. As chairman of the city council he may approve or veto its ordinances (may veto separate items in an appro- priation bill and approve the rest). But a two-thirds vote J^P^*^' ■ K Chicago's F?)cket Book WHERE THE TAXES GO. THIS SHOWS THE DISTRIBUTION OF EVERY DOLLAR OF TAXES Prepared by Woman's City Club of Chicago, 1912 22 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS will defeat a veto and make the ordinance law. Through written messages to the council he recommends any meas- ures he wishes considered. He is limited to five days in considering an ordinance. B. He appoints almost all the executive officers of the city, although his power is greatly limited by the civil-serv- ice law and the consent of the council. His appointing power is now limited to about fifty positions, mainly heads of departments, exempt from the civil service. Yet his patronage, measured by the combined salaries of all the officers and employees he appoints and the powerful patronage through the street department in hiring men and teams for street work, amounts to thousands annually. One can easily understand why an ambitious politician might covet the mayoralty of Chicago. C. He issues and revokes licenses. The exercise of this power too often links the mayor's office with the liquor interests, and the resorts of the underworld. D. He may pardon any violation of an ordinance and remit any fine levied as a punishment. E. He has general supervision over all city departments. F. He is conservator of the peace and responsible for the safety and order of the city through his control of the public departments. G. He must enforce all ordinances impartially. (7) This duty is the best test of an able mayor and a good city government. The mayor appoints the heads of the following principal departments: library board of nine directors; board of education of twenty-one members; board of three directors for the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium (all these serve without pay and have the right to levy separate taxes) ; law GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 23 department, including corporation counsel and city attorney ; department of finance, including comptroller and city col- lector; general superintendent of p>olice and two deputies; civil-service commissioners; fire and health departments; city physician; building commissioner; department of boiler inspection; weights and measures; smoke inspection; de- partment of supplies under business agent; transportation; track elevation; department of public works; of electricity; special park commission and the city forester; board of local improvements; board of examining engineers; harbor and subway commission ; superintendent and three inspectors for House of Correction ; inspector of oils ; bureau of statis- tics. To simply read over this list of departments and re- member it takes an army of 24,000 men and women em- ployees to attend to the city's business gives one a little idea of the big problems to be solved in running Chicago's gov- ernment. For a thorough knowledge of the organization of all these departments, the positions exempt from civil- service examinations, those under the classified service, number of employees, salaries, and appropriations for 19 15, consult the charts prepared by the Efficiency Division of the Chicago Civil-Service Commission. These charts are very valuable, but too complicated for the average citizen to un- derstand. The admirable " Chart of the Organization of the City of Chicago," prepared in October 191 3, by the Chicago Bureau of Public Efficiency, 315 Plymouth Court, and reproduced on p. 25, gives a clear, definite idea of the organization of this great city government. (8) The City Clerk, elected for two years, keeps the city seal, all minutes of council meetings, lists of licenses and permits issued, and franchises granted by the council. He is custodian of all city papers, including the ordinances. 24 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS He IS the only city official not required by law to make an annual report to the mayor and council. (One solitary re- port was made voluntarily, 1908, by the city clerk, but the excellent precedent then set has never been followed.) More than ninety different licenses are issued by the city clerk, varying from permission to sell gasoline, ice, or liquor, to the right to collect junk. The fees required for these licenses are paid to the city collector, but the license and metal tag often required are issued by the clerk. The City Treasurer is elected for two years; receives $12,000 salary; must give a bond (191 5, $5,000,000), de- termined by the council. He is responsible for all the city funds, including the school taxes — in 1916 over seventy- two million dollars. By act of the Legislature, 1913, a terrh of the city clerk and the treasurer of Chicago has been increased to four years if the voters approve at the regular April election in 19 14. (9) Law Department. It takes a group of more than seventy attorneys and an office force of over one hundred to control the law business of the city. At their head is the Corporation Counsel, who is the chief legal adviser of the mayor, the council, and all the city officials. His salary is $10,000. The entire legal department is exempt from any civil-service examination and the appointments are purely political. The Business Agent is responsible for buying all sup- plies, from office stationery to hay for the city's horses. He must give a bond for the faithful performance of his duties. Every city officer and employee is put under a bond to guar- antee good service. Board of Local Improvements has five members ap- pointed by the mayor with the consent of the council. It THE VOTERS OF THE CITYofCHICAGO BOARD OF ELECTION commissioners!? Appoin + ed by the County Judge Dcpariments or Appointive Officials Prepared by Chicago Bureau of Public Efficiency, 1913 (10) Chart of Organization of the government of the City of Chicago showing lines of authority and salary rates for elective officials. 26 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS is their duty to apportion on each piece of property benefited the amount of every special assessment ordered by the coun- cil for any local improvement, as a sewer, water main, street or alley paving. Other Executive Officers. The duties of most of these executive officers are explained by the name of the office, but a few require additional explanation. Comptrol- ler is the financial agent for the city and has general over- sight of all persons who handle the cash of the city, or its deeds, contracts, and leases. He is head of the depart- ment of finance, and the elected city treasurer and appointed collector are subordinate to him. He is often called " the watch-dog of the city treasury." The City Collector re- ceives special assessments, licenses, and the wheel tax. The Commissioner of Public Works has a great variety of duties and is responsible for more bureaus (subdivisions of depart- ments) than any other city officer. Streets, alleys, side- walks, their paving, repairing, and cleaning; bridges, via- ducts, sewers, and the water system ; the engineering bureau ; the erection and care of all public buildings belonging to the city ; docks, wharves, market places — all these represent part of the services rendered by this huge department. It takes now a small army of 5,000 persons to do this work, and the council appropriated over $500,000 in 19 16 for its maintenance. In addition, the commissioner of public works is responsible for the expenditure of other millions in special public improvements ( u ) to be constructed, like the proposed boulevard linking the North and South Sides by a double-deck bridge at Pine Street. The Bureau of Streets under the Department of Public Works also has charge of the removal of all waste, refuse and snow from the streets and alleys. This includes the so-called '* pure garbage " or GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO ' 27 kitchen waste. In the last three years Chicago has made much progress toward solving her troublesome garbage problem. In proof, note the organization of a Bureau of Waste Disposal under an expert engineer, Col. Henry A. Allen. (See note, Appendix D.) The House of Correction. The Chicago Bridewell, as the house of correction is commonly called, has two thou- sand prisoners, most of them serving short sentences, or working out fines imposed for violations of the city ordi- nances. This large population makes the Bridewell by far the largest prison in Illinois, as there are only about 1,400 convicts at Joliet. The Chicago house of correction has a national reputation due to the humane, wise government of its superintendent, John L. Whitman, who has been re- tained through rival administrations owing to his fine work. The inmates of the John Worthy School (12), an institu- tion for delinquent boys, controlled by Chicago, have been removed to Gage farm. Riverside, where they can have the home life of the cottage and farm and much better chance for reform than under the walls of the Bridewell and in a "jail school." The John Worthy building is now used for a hospital for inebriates under the management of the superintendent of the house of correction. Municipal Courts of Chicago. The judicial officers of Chicago are now thirty-one elected municipal court judges, ten of whom are elected in November 19 14. Their term is six years. The municipal court was established by act of Legislature and referendum vote of the people, 1905, and opened December 1906. This court replaces the nineteen notorious justices of the peace appointed by the governor. By amendment to the Municipal Court Act approved 19 13, the term of part of the municipal court judges will be 28 • ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS lengthened to allow their election to come in April instead of November. This court tries civil and criminal cases in Chicago where the amount involved is not over one thou- sand dollars. Imprisonment is in the county jail or house of correction. The court can not commit to the peniten- tiary. Some of the judges are assigned by the chief jus- tice to certain specialized courts. Three have been estab- lished thus far and work well: The courts of Domestic Relations, Morals, and Speeders. There is a chief clerk and a chief bailiff elected for six years and the salary for each office is $6,000. The chief justice has $10,000 salary and each judge, $6,000. Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium is an independent taxing body, although the three directors are appointed by the mayor. Under direction of the late Dr. T. B. Sachs, the Sanitarium instructed hundreds of patients in sanitary living, enabling them to resume work. Its work is also preventive through the dispensaries maintained in the more congested districts and through the nurses employed to visit the homes, search out cases of tuberculosis, and get them to the dispensary for treatment if possible; also to teach the home care necessary for cure and to prevent the spread of the "white plague." A municipal sanitarium with eight hundred beds has been constructed at Bowmanville. The three great public safety departments, health, fire, police; the work of the board of education and the park commissions caring for municipal recreation, all deserve, and will receive, special notice. Is it wise for Chicago to spend six times as much for pro- tection of property as for protection of life? Notice the table of relative expenditures for these public safety de- partments (p. 34) and think what it means. ' GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 29 HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF CHICAGO 1 " The public health is the foundation on which repose the happiness of the people and the power of a country." — Lord Beaconsfield. " For most of us, our health is our wealth." " The health department operates under the police power of the State." 2 " The police power is the right of a community to do whatever is re- quired to protect its health or morals." — Dr. Evans.^ Organization. The health department of Chicago is organized under the following bureaus which are directly responsible to the health commissioner appointed by the mayor : I. Bureau of Medical Inspection has two important divisions: (A) Contagious Diseases, and (B) Child Hygiene.* A. Division of Contagious Diseases. Duties : a. To prevent spread of contagion. b. To provide school inspection. B. Division of Child Hygiene. Duties : To conduct infant welfare work. Over 100 nurses do the home and school visiting in this division. 1 Courtesy Chicago Woman's City Club. (14) 2 See Forman: Am. Rep., pp. 313-318; and Adv. Civ., pp. 390-396. 3 See Report Chicago Dep't Health for 1907-08-09-10. 4 "Little Mothers' Schools" for the practical instruction of young girls in the care of the baby are conducted by the Child Hygiene division of the health department in over thirty of the public schools. Classes are held every week and fifteen hundred girls from twelve to fifteen attend. This is another feature of the Department's campaign to save the babies. The weekly Bulletin issued by the Chicago Health Department is an- other important link in this vital chain of disease prevention. (15) 30 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 2. Laboratory Service. Duties: a. To give early, sure diagnosis of contagious dis- eases through " cultures " taken from throat, nose, or blood of a sick person. b. Milk and water analysis. " Forty per cent, of Chicago's deaths are from preventable diseases." 3. Bureau of Food Inspection. Duties: a. To protect the meat and milk supplies: works with laboratory service. b. To regulate markets and food supplies. " Death lurks in dirty food." 4. Bureau of Sanitary Inspection. About 13,000 buildings are erected annually in Chicago. The hundred inspectors have abundance of work to do. Duties: a. To regulate housing. b. To promote cleanliness (see illustration) through inspecting plumbing. c. To inspect restaurants. d. Division of Ventilation, established July i, 1912, looks after ventilation of moving picture thea- ters, churches, and public halls. " Bad housing promotes failure, stupidity, crime, disease, and death." 5. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Duties : a. " Points out the path toward greater health for all and records our progress in defeating dis- ease." "Auditors of the books of Life and Death." ALL ABOARDy?"- Clean Chicago!! Chicaqo.Chicaqo Chicc>(go''cn,ao^V) 1, "Wbithe^r ob wh\Vb(z,r ob wbitbe»'. 60 ipvy ? To oWan up *b(Z. alley 6 Anik cVia6e oa\ \b^ /ly 1 Tbr)q 32 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS b. Issues burial permits. Now registers birth certificates. (i6) A moving picture film entitled " An Error of Omission," to illustrate the inconvenience and loss that may come to any person who can not show a birth certificate, has been prepared and exhibited in many of the theaters. It is hoped to arouse public interest so that every baby will be registered within twenty-four hours of its birth, as is now required by law. 6. Bureau of Hospitals, Baths, and Lodging House. (17) A. Contagious Disease Hospital. [To be opened 1917.] Bond issue $300,000 voted (1912) to erect new hospital. B. Isolation Hospital for smallpox cases. C. Free Municipal Lodging House for homeless men. D. Twenty public baths. Three new ones to be built at cost of $20,000 each. Council (January, 1916) appro- priated $37,400 for running expenses of these bath houses. " Disease means dirt somewhere." 7. Board of Examiners of Plumbers. Required by State Law. Independent of the health department is the city phy- sician^ appointed by the mayor: salary $4,000, with two assistant physicians. The council appropriated $8,825 for this department, 19 16. Why are not these doctors under the health commissioner? How are dead animals removed from streets and alleys? Notify a policeman or telephone the superintendent of streets in the ward. If not removed within twenty-four hours, call up the health department, because it then be- comes a public nuisance and a menace to health. The dead- animal contractor has a contract with the city through the health commissioner by which he must remove such bodies - GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 33 free of charge and get his pay from the hides and profit to a rendering plant; but he must be notified only by the proper city department. This is a round-about process, and in the interest of public health, cleanliness, and good munic- ipal housekeeping, ought to be made more simple and direct. A new contract was made in 19 12 by which motor-wagons are to be used for removing dead animals from the streets. Such motor-wagons are already in use for the bodies of small animals, and those for large animals are being built. This insures much quicker, more thorough service for every part of the city. If the citizen could notify directly the contractor instead of being obliged often to call two dif- ferent city departments, another forward step in municipal sanitation would be gained. An illustration of the campaign to prevent disease being waged by the department of health follows. During July and August, 191 6, the health department exhibited its films, '' Summer Babies," and " An Error of Omission," in a large number of moving-pictures theaters in the congested wards of the city. To teach the necessity of pure milk the photo-play, *' The Man Who Learned," was also given. About 260,000 people saw these pictures and thus gained a vivid lesson in health preservation. Two new photo-plays, entitled, " Dr. Killjoy Was Right," to illustrate typhoid prevention and show on the screen " the high and mighty tumblers of the germ family" — the typhoid bacilli — and a film, "Life History of a Fly" will soon be ex- hibited. Nearly a half million persons visit the 600 " mov- ies " in Chicago daily. The health department has been quick to seize such an unrivaled opportunity to secure ai» audience for a campaign of health education. (18) 34 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 1916 $7,324,803.90 $3,417,659.66 $1,490,249.24 School purposes for education and buildings $23,625,000 Public library, 1916, for maintenance 1,131,400 Scaled down under Juul law to $600,000 Municipal tuberculosis sanitarium 1,040,000 BACK- YARD PROVERBS " Have you a ' swell front and a swill back ' ? Does your land- lord, the janitor, do your neighbors, or you yourself, let waste and garbage endanger the neighborhood through carelessness ? " — Dr. G. B. Young, ex-Health Commissioner of Chicago. (19) Dr. Young has issued some back-yard proverbs to impress his meaning, reading as follows: " Your back yard reflects your habits of cleanliness. " What impressions are your neighbors getting from your back yard? " A dirty neighbor is a menace to neighborhood health. " ' Personal liberty ' must of necessity be subservient to com- munity welfare. " A dirty neighbor will do more than most anything else to depreciate residence property values. GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 35 <>'' aiiEATfflNQ 3)OLLS THE- KECZSSITV'^' VZrriTJLATloif Aia POIXVTIOlf OF A CLOStD -R-OOK "If you value your reputation, your health, or your property — keep clean and see that your neighbors keep clean." The Fresh-Air Crusade. " Four breathing dolls, two mamma dolls and two baby dolls, are booked to cover a good part of the world as missionaries. They are apostles of the fresh-air crusade. It begins to look as though they were destined to do more for the cause of ventilation and ^resh air than all the talking that all the doctors of the world have done about it. ''The breathing dolls were invented and set to breathing by Dr. C. St. Clair Drake of the Chica- go health department. ( 20) They are connected by rubber tubes with a little electric pump that pumps incense through their nos- trils. You can see the incense rise from them in puffs, for all the world as though they were breathing in frosty air. Two of the dolls lie abed in a tiny room with windows and doors wide open. Two lie abed in another tiny room with windows and doors tight shut. " One side of each of these rooms is a plate of glass. And through these plates of glass whoever looks gets the J^IS^TTAlti. IS J5EAXf£ Tsas tXUca rEE,3H ATE. IS JUS! rt^oix& 36 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS lesson of good ventilation slap in the face. One room is full of smoke and vapor. The glass is clouded with mist. You can hardly see the two dolls that lie abed there, and you can't tell for sure whether they are still breathing or not. " The other has n't a visible particle of smoke or vapor in it, except for the little puffs of incense that come from the nostrils of the dolls. One room is full of fresh air. The other is full of foul air. One room is well ventilated. The other is n't ventilated at all. It is n't Hkely that any one who once sees this graphic comparison will ever sleep in a closed room again." Fire Department. In the early 30's, v^hen Chicago was only a village of frame shanties, the trustees expended most of their energies planning to safeguard the village from fire. No person was allowed " to endanger the pub- lic safety by pushing a red-hot stove-pipe through a board wall," or " carry open coals of fire through the streets ex- cept in a covered fire-proof vessel." All citizens were re- quired to keep a fire-bucket in the house and on an alarm of fire, hurry to the spot equipped with said bucket ready for immediate use. The village grew so fast a hook and ladder company was formed in 1835 and the first fire-engine was purchased for $894, a wonderful engine for that day. Contrast the modern automobile fire-engine costing $9,000 now used by the city. Chicago now values her fire-fighting equipment at more than $3,000,000. At the head of the force, two thousand strong, is the fire marshal, appointed by the mayor and paid $8,000 for his hazardous work. His position is no sine- cure ; he actually leads his men at many of the fires and must be an experienced firefighter to hold his place. He has ■ GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 37 six assistant marshals, one of whom has charge of fire- prevention work. The entire city is divided into twenty fire districts, with a chief and battalion of firemen in each district. The or- ganization and discipline are military in effect, and Chicago has the reputation of possessing one of the best organized and bravest bodies of firemen in the country. The equipment includes nearly one thousand horses, six fireboats, steam and chemical engines, automobile-engines and trucks, hook and ladder companies, and old-fashioned hose carts. There is great need of a new high-pressure water system to protect Chicago's sky-scrapers. The anniversary of the great Chicago fire, October g, 191 3, was celebrated throughout the State by the inaugura- tion of a fire-prevention day. Governor Dunne by procla- mation recommended its observance. Property-owners were urged to clean up their property so as to lessen the hazard. Fire drills were held in many schools and shops, and an effort made to have rubbish disposed of so that it would not increase the fire risk. Governor Dunne in his proclamation said : ** Statistics show fire waste is increasing annually in the State of Illi- nois, and last year it averaged $1,000,000 a month. Be- sides this, nearly four hundred people in this State lost their lives through the agency of fires. No nation or State can long endure the waste and drain upon its resources due to fire, and the fact that so many of them are largely pre- ventable is a reproach to our people and needs immediate attention and remedy." (21) What can we do as public-spirited citizens to decrease this appalling waste from fires? Here is another reason for frequent "municipal house cleaning days." 38 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS POLICE DEPARTMENT OF CHICAGO Under the ordinance, passed January 27, 191 3, for the reorganization of the police department of Chicago, the general superintendent, appointed by the mayor, with con- sent of council, at a salary of $8,000, stands at the head. " It shall be the duty of said general superintendent of police to preserve the peace and secure good order and cleanliness within the city of Chicago, and to that end he shall enforce all laws and city ordinances and the orders of the city council and the mayor." It takes an army nearly five thousand strong to guard the lives and property of the city, and it costs Chicago tax- payers for this service over $7,325,000 this year. The active force of men is now directed by the first deputy superintendent under the new semi-military organi- zation. The second deputy superintendent must not be a member of the police force, but is of equal rank and salary with the first deputy. Both are under civil-service rules. The second deputy has charge of all departmental property, records, inspections, and drills. He has charge of the moving-picture bureau, the lost and found department, and the supervision of moral conditions in the city. Should you have any complaint to make about the conduct of the policeman near your home, report to the second deputy su- perintendent. He also provides a system of credit and de- merit marks to be charged up to the men by their command- ing officers during drills, both mounted and unmounted, and these marks have a decided effect on their records toward retention in the service and for promotion. This is one way to secure good discipline among the force. A brief account of the various bureaus under which the ' GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 39 department is organized will best show the great number of services the force renders. 1 . Two motor-boats . rescue drowning persons, recover bodies and property from the water. 2. Patrolmen assigned to the forty-five police precincts into which the city is divided. These men cover the 199 square miles of the city's area. 3. Traffic squad. The pick of the force are assigned to guard the street-crossings in the loop and they prevent many accidents every day. 4. Mounted poHce — about 175. 5. Ambulance and patrol-wagon service. There are police ambulances for accident cases in eight wards; many automobile-patrols and automobile-ambulances are now in use, a modern feature, increasing many fold the effective- ness of this service. 6. Motorcycle squad for rapid service : to control speed- ing on the city highways and for special strike duty. The tracking of stolen automobiles is another useful service of this swiftly moving squad. 7. Vehicle Bureau. Issues licenses to peddlers, public automobiles, hack-drivers, garages, stables, and all motor- cycles and express-wagons. 8. Bureau of Vagrancy. Arrests, brings to punishment, or deports all suspicious persons and loiterers who seem to have no regular business. The article, " The Forgotten Army," by H. M. Hyde, Chicago Tribune, September 4, 191 3, gives a different view of Chicago's army of vagrants. The article is well worth reading. 9. The Dog-Pound Master imprisons stray or vicious dogs, looks after the dog licenses, and kills dangerous ani- mals. 40 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 10. Detective Bureau identifies and keeps track of crim- inals by aid of photographs (the " rogue's gallery "), finger- prints, etc. 11. Moving-picture Bureau has the censorship of films, postal and picture cards. This bureau suppresses hundreds of indecent films and postcards every year. It also inspects theaters and arcades. The movies furnish the only amuse- ment within reach of a large part of the population of Chicago. Over a half million men, women, and children visit these shows every day. Of this number over 150,000 are children under fifteen years old. A strict censorship of the films in Chicago is very necessary.^ 12. Ten policewomen were appointed by the mayor July, 19 13, and placed on patrol duty in the dance halls, at bath- ing beaches, and moving-picture theaters. ^^ They report to the first deputy and are especially charged to look after un- protected women, girls, and children. In each of the ten police-stations where women arrested are taken, there is a police-matron to have charge of such women. There are now about seventy-five women officially connected with the department. 13. Custodian of Lost, Stolen, and Seized Property. About 5,000 packages of money, jewelry, clothing, revolvers, bicycles, slot machines, were received by the custodian dur- ing 191 5. More than $15,000 in cash was held in trust by him. Slot machines and all gambling outfits must be destroyed immediately. Revolvers and all dangerous weapons taken mjust be dumped in the lake five miles from shore. One of the police motor-boats is used to do this. All unclaimed property is sold at public auction and the proceeds turned into the police pension fund. It is well for 5 See Report Gen. Supt. of Police 1912, pp. 5 and loi. ''a There are now thirty policewomen. ' GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 41 citizens to understand what becomes of lost and stolen prop- erty taken up by the policemen and that they must go to the custodian's office in the city hall to recover such property. Public Safety. Stop ! Look ! Listen ! ^ How can each of us help to reduce the large and growing number of street accidents? Every time we dart across the street before the traffic policeman's signal ; cross the street, or even a country road, without looking in both directions for autos and teams; attempt to drive over a railroad crossing after the warning signal has rung, or the flagman has given notice the train is coming, we wilfully, to save two minutes' time, run the risk of death, or even worse, being crippled for life, by our lawless act. Let us call things by their right names. We are law- breakers when we run these risks, for no one has any moral right to endanger his life and limbs in such a reckless fashion. If private citizens would take half the pains to guard their own lives that the city police department through its fine traffic squad, and the railroad and street-car corporations, take to protect and safeguard us, the death harvest from preventable street accidents would be dimin- ished fifty per cent. Teamsters, truck-drivers, autoists, are finable if they dis- obey the whistle of the traffic policeman. There should be a similar ordinance giving the right to arrest and fine any pedestrian who likewise disobeys the traffic signal. Until the council puts such an ordinance into the municipal code, all citizens can help reduce the dangers from Chicago's con- gested streets many- fold if they will simply render implicit ® See article by F. V. Whiting, by this title " Outlook," August 23, 1913. Also Chicago City Manual for 1912, pp. 167-171; Mayor's letter on " The Automobile and Motorcycle Peril." 42 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS obedience to the traffic signal — one whistle allowing all vehicles to move north and south; two whistles, east and west. The pedestrian's opportunity is when the city guard- ian of public safety has halted one of the moving lines. Chicago Railways Company has a Public Safety Bureau and exhibits moving pictures to illustrate its safety direc- tions. The company will gladly loan its films to any or- ganization or school desiring to teach its useful public-safety measures. A Public-Safety Commission of twenty-five citizens was organized (September, 1913) by the coroner of Cook County, to investigate the great number of deaths in the county through accidents and to suggest ways and means to enlist the public in a campaign to safeguard human life on streets and highways. SCHOOL SYSTEM OF CHICAGO. The board of education, of twenty-one members, five of whom are now women, are appointed by the mayor, with the consent of the council, and have entire control of Chi- cago's great public-school system, with three exceptions. The council must concur whenever bonds are issued, sites purchased, or school buildings are erected. The board ap- points the general superintendent, at present John D. Shoop who succeeded Mrs. Ella Flagg Young, an educator, retired since 191 5, whose work for the Chicago schools was re- markable. In the words of Mrs. Young, the aim of the school system is : " To invigorate and strengthen the chil- dren for their future as citizens of this repubhc." The first school building owned by Chicago was built in 1844 on the present site of the Tribune Building, Madison and Dearborn Streets. This block is still school land. The following quotation from Beard's American City ^GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 43 Government J p. 136, is a good illustration of the " un- earned increment " in land values in Chicago and what in- come the city schools might have had: " In 1818 — when Illinois became a State — the United States government gave the square mile between State, Madison, Halsted, and Twelfth Streets, to the State of Illinois, to be held in trust for the support of the public schools and the education of the children of Chicago. Except for one block, between Madison, Dearborn, State, and Monroe Streets, nearly all this square mile was sold about seventy years ago, for less than $40,000. Within fifteen years after it was sold this square mile was worth $6,000,000. To-day its value is hundreds of millions of dollars — without improvements. The rent for this square mile of land would be sufficient to support for all time the entire school systems of the State of Illinois without an additional dollar of taxation." This statement was made in 1909 by three former members of the Chicago school-board. The *' unearned increment " is the great increase in the value of land due entirely to in- crease in population and in no wise to any effort or labor on the part of the owner. "If Chicago's standing army of 400,000 school children were formed in military order, eight abreast, this army would make a line fifty-two miles long — longer than any street in the city." To care for this army, the city main- tains three hundred public and high schools with seven thousand teachers at an expenditure for 19 16 of $16,500,- 000 for running expenses and $6,000,000 for new school buildings — a grand total of $22,500,000 for public edu- cation.'^ "^ Much of this material was prepared in the form of charts by the Chicago Woman's City Chib, through whose courtesy it is used here. 44 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS What has Chicago to offer in return for this vast sum, which forms one-third of the taxes collected for all pur- poses? A child may enter a kindergarten at five and pass through the eight grades, then four years in high school, and two years at the city normal (22) — should the boy or girl desire to teach, — eleven years' training at public ex- pense. A child may have physical, technical, manual, and domestic-science training in addition to the regular mental work, with music, drawing, painting, and all commercial branches thrown in. For the workers who are ambitious for an education, the city provides evening schools with a regularly paid corps of instructors. October, 19 16, there was a small army of 30,000, many over twenty-one, enrolled in these " after-supper " classes. Notice this list of special classes maintained for the deaf, blind, crippled, and subnormal children; open-air and low- temperature schools for tuberculous children; a parental school for truants at Bowmanville, caring for three hun- dred and twenty-five boys under fourteen; and a school at the Juvenile Detention Home for delinquents; apprentice, vocational, agricultural, and continuation schools. In many of the crowded districts the schoolhouse is used as a social center for the neighborhood and provides a free hall for all kinds of public meetings, clubs, dances, and classes of every kind, all under suitable supervision, often a paid social director. The people of Chicago are beginning to use their tremendous investment in school lands and build- ings seven days a week and twelve months a year instead of letting it stand idle one-third of the time. What of the child who must leave school and go to work ? The board of education holds out a helping hand to aid him in finding a suitable job through a new bureau of vo- - GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 45 cational supervision. This bureau keeps a list of employers of child labor, investigates the positions, consults teachers, employers, parents, and the child, and then tries to get the young worker into a suitable position for which he is naturally fitted. CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY Chicago owes her public library to the efforts of an Eng- lishman, Thomas Hughes, who secured a donation of seven thousand volumes in England immediately after the great fire of 1 87 1 and persuaded even Queen Victoria to con- tribute some of the books. The first volume of this col- lection, bearing the Queen's autograph, is still exhibited in the library if any interested visitor requests a view of the book. The present beautiful building houses over 400,(X>o vol- umes and serves more than 100,000 regular patrons hold- ing readers' cards. In the reading, circulation, reference, public documents, civics, art, and children's rooms, the gen- eral and special needs of readers are met. A recent in- novation is a " study room for women," on the fourth floor, to serve the needs of club women in preparing club programs and for the study of topics included in all gov- ernmental subjects of interest to the new woman voter who desires to use her ballot intelligently. The present librarian (23) won his position through com- petitive examination — a pioneer experiment in civil-service examinations for such difificult and important positions. It proved a decided success in securing an efficient, pro- gressive librarian. A dozen branch reading-rooms, many in schools and field houses in the parks, and several circulation centers are also 46 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS maintained. Many delivery-stations for the convenience of readers in distant parts of the city are maintained. The Hbrary is governed by a board of nine directors ap- pointed by the mayor with the consent of the council, for three years, and they serve M^ithout pay. The library is supported by a special tax of one mill w^hich is levied on all taxable property in the city, but this is scaled down under the Juul law. MUNICIPAL RECREATION References : 1. Annual Report: Special Park Commission, Chicago, 1915. (This shows what can be done with a small sum of money wisely used.) 2. The Park Governments of Chicago, Chicago Bureau of Public Efficiency, December, 191 1. (Following facts are largely based on this admirable report. All the reports of the Bureau of Public Efficiency are of exceeding value and interest. They are supplied without charge to any one who desires them.) Address the director, Harris S. Keeler, 315 Plymouth Court, Chicago. 3. Map of the park districts of Chicago. (24) " The Chicago park situation is unparalleled in any city of this country." This bad condition is due to the large number of independent park districts. Chicago is famous the world over for its parks, playgrounds, and boulevards ; but the city sadly needs consolidation of park management under the city government. There are sixteen separate park governments within the city of Chicago, not counting the special park commission, an arm of the city government. Fifteen of these governments are independent taxing bodies, the Lincoln Park Commission having no separate taxing power. Existing park boards now spend approximately six million dollars annually. Do the people of Chicago re- PARK DISTRICTS AND PARKS within the CITY OF CHICAGO UNDER CONTHOL OF PARK COMMISSIONS Solid BlBi;k Large Park Boulevard Small Park g Fieldhouse and Playgroand • SmaU Park with Fieldhouse _ and Playground 13 Bathing Beach # UNDER CONTROL OF CITY GOVERNMENT Park ^ Playground o Bathing Beach O Boundary of Park District .mmmi Msion of Towns within ^— » City Prepared by CniCAGO BUREAU Or PUBUC EFFICIEKCT 1913 48 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS ceive dollar for dollar in value for this large expendi- ture ? Moreover there is a general statute, applying to territory not within any existing park district, under which addi- tional park districts may be established by petition signed by one hundred voters, to the county judge, and a special election to approve such petition for a park district. Five commissioners are elected to manage the new district. These commissioners have power to levy a special park tax. The commissioners serve without pay, and may issue bonds if permitted by the voters. This law applies to the entire State and under its authority thousands of park dis- tricts have been created. The park districts of Chicago are very unequally divided among the three sides of the city. The entire area is now over 3,500 acres; but it is not distributed according to popu- lation and the great needs of the people in the congested wards of the West and Northwest Sides. The park governments (25) as now organized can not easily be controlled by the people of Chicago. The West and Lincoln Park Boards are appointed by the governor of Illinois and the South Park Board by the circuit judges of Cook County. The park employees since 191 1 have been under the civil-service rules of the State. Consolidation of the several park governments with the city government would centralize control and responsibility and make the government of the parks more democratic. The saving thus effected is estimated at a half a million of dollars a year. That sum of money would go a great way in extend- ing Chicago's system of small parks and playgrounds. The special park commission under the city government does wonders with its small appropriation from the city council. - GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 49 The South Park Board has the great advantage of the im- mensely vahiable property in the loop to tax and therefore has more money than it can spend. This naturally leads to extravagance and waste, while the crowded West Side, with its congested foreign population, and dire need of public recreation parks, swimming pools, and field houses, is too poor to provide all these facilities unaided. The only sensible method is to fit expenditure to needs and spend the South Side surplus on West Side necessities. Chicago's Problems. One of Chicago's most difficult problems is the large percentage of foreign-born whites in the city — now 35.7 per cent. If to these foreign-born persons are added those of foreign or mixed parentage, Chicago's percentage leaps up to 77.5. Chicago ranks third among the cities of the United States in its population, foreign born and of foreign-born parentage. New York heads the list with 78.6 per cent.; Milwaukee has exactly the same percentage — 78.6 per cent. ; Chicago is third, with 77.5 per cent. (26) In common with all large American cities, Chicago shares the problems created by the presence of such numbers of the foreign born, alien to our language and our ways, yet eager to learn both and share in our opportunities for work and the chance to make good in business and industry. We must never forget our heavy debt to the strong muscles and willing hands of these strangers in our midst. They build and elevate our railroads, dig our drainage canals and sewers; man our factories, build our sky-scrapers and make possible all our great manufacturing industries. They give us the best they have, their strength and health. What return do we make for this necessary service? Too often the slum district is our answer. 50 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS Chicago is face to face with large problems of municipal improvement that must be solved soon, or the city cannot go forward. A sanitary, economical, modern disposal of garbage and all kinds of city waste heads the list, a system big enough to care for every block in the city (27) ; rapid, safe, cheap transportation that will distribute the working population away from the congested centers into suburbs where there is land suitable for homes; the best way to ** burn our own smoke " and clear the atmosphere ; the re- demption of the lake front ; consolidation of twenty-two sep- arate governments within Chicago: a suitable harbor — these seem to be the most pressing of Chicago's problems. John Fiske was right when he wrote :," The modern city has come to be a huge corporation for carrying on a huge business with many branches." It is coming to be more human than a corporation and to mean a business proposition plus social service. SANITARY DISTRICT Of the sanitary commissioners and sanitary district trustees, throughout the State, the most powerful and the best paid are those of the sanitary district of Chicago. Study the map of the sanitary district, p. 51. The san- itary district of Chicago is a municipal corporation created by the act of 1889 to provide a drainage system for the "preservation of the public health" by purifying the wa- ter supply. This is to be accomplished finally by turning all the sewage in the sanitary district into the drainage canal and away from Lake Michigan. The excavated portion of the sanitary canal begins at Robey Street, Chicago, and runs about thirty miles to the controlling works at Lockport. Fifteen miles of this main MAP Of rHE S/)N/mRy DISTRICT CHIC/)GO A/Ofi7?f SHOPS CMNf/£L Cy)LUMET-SA6CH/iN/V£L cr^oe/t cowxvcrw^ o/STK/cr. rocooKCOUNTy ANO c/ry o^ CM/CAS o SeoAfo/Af//»s » « « » -♦ * 52 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS channel is cut through soHd rock. It cuts through the watershed, once a glacial moraine, at Summit, Illinois, and reverts to preglacial conditions by reversing the current in the Chicago river and causing that river to flow west and south instead of into the lake. The entire canal is one of the most remarkable in the world owing to difficulties surmounted in its construction and 'to its purpose. The canal was opened by admitting the required amount of water from Lake Michigan in January 1900. There are nine trustees elected for six years, in the November elections, only three being chosen at once. The original act has been amended several times to increase the territory included in the district and the powers of the san- itary trustees by allowing them to develop and sell the electric power created by the canal. The sanitary board sells the electricity developed at Lockport, and the cities of Joliet, Lockport, and part of Chicago are lighted from this current : also the Chicago City Hall ; Lincoln Park, West and South Side systems (in part), and the County Build- ing. It costs about fifteen cents an hour to light brilliantly the council chamber of the Chicago City Hall from this municipally generated electric current — a striking illus- tration of the difference in cost of a commodity manufac- tured by a public instead of a private corporation. The sanitary trustees have very large powers of taxation and bond issue. The employees of the district are not un- der any civil-service law, and appointments are largely made for political instead of merit reasons. The man who con- trols the vote gets the " job " every time ! This is a seri- ous defect in the law because of the millions of dollars ex- pended by the sanitary board. The drainage canal has '•^- GOVERNMENT OF CHICAGO 53 cost the people over eighty-five millions already, and con- tracts are pending in the construction of the Sag-Calumet branch canal that call for many millions more. Such huge expenditures demand honest, efficient work and strict ac- count of every dollar spent if the tax-payers get a just return for their money. The salary of the trustees is large — $5,000 annually — and the president of the board has $7,500. These increased salaries have been in force since July I, 191 1. (Rev. Stat., 1912, ch. 24, sec. 346.) This is another reason the work of the board should be carefully watched and only men of the highest character, who will serve the public faithfully, be elected as trustees. (28) 28 refers to non-partizan organization of Council Committees. See pp. 224-225, Appendix D. CHAPTER III TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS IN ILLINOIS References : 1. Forman: Advanced Civics, ch. xxvii. (Hist, town and township government in general.) 2. Forman: American Republic, chs. xxiii, xxiv. (In general.) 3. J. A. Fairlie: Town and County Government in illinois; Re- port Joint-Leg. Com., 47th Gen. Ass'y, 1912, Vol II. 4. M. H. Newell : Township Government in Illinois, 1904. 111. Hist. Pubs., No. 9, pp. 467-504. 5. Revised Statutes, ch. 139. I. Meaning of Terms. There is great confusion in the use of the terms, tozvn, toumship, civil and congressional townships, and incorporated town throughout the State. The following definitions are based on the Revised Statutes and decisions of the Illinois Supreme Court : The terms town, township, and incorporated town are used in various ways to describe (i) geographical and (2) civil or gov- ernmental divisions of the county or State, as follows: " I. The term township, or its abbreviation town, is used to de- scribe a geographical division of land, approximately six miles square. This is also known as a congressional township, because its boundaries were determined by the United States governmental survey under an act of Congress. " 2. The term township, or its abbreviation town, is also used to designate a civil division of the county. This civil township, or town, is an involuntary governmental agency; that is, it is im- posed upon the people living within the territory which it em- 54 TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS IN ILLINOIS 55 braces by a vote of the electors of the entire county, rather than by a vote of the electors who live within its boundaries. "3. The term tozvn, or incorporated town, as it is more fre- quently used, denotes a municipal corporation which in all essen- tial respects is identical with the municipal corporation known as a village.^ The incorporated town or village differs from the civil town or township in that it is a voluntary municipal corporation organized by the voters living within the territory included in the town or village, whereas the simple town or township is an invol- untary governmental agency, as explained above." II. How Towns Are Formed. Any county in Illi- nois may be divided into towns whenever a majority of the voters at any general election approve the proposition. In that case it is the duty of the county board to appoint three commissioners to make the division. The commissioners must make the towns coincide with congressional townships if possible and must select names for them; but no two towns in the State may have the same name.^ "In 1910 there were 1430 civil townships, or towns, in the eighty-five counties of Illinois under township organization. Most of them are rural communities with a population from 1,000 to 2,000. But, except in Chicago, where the townships have been practically abolished since 1903, the Illinois townships include cities and villages within their geographical limits; so there are a number of townships of from 10,000 to 60,000 population. The township of Joliet, for instance, contains 16,000 inhabitants out- ^ " This does not mean that the powers of a village organized under the Cities and Villages Act may be exactly the same as the powers of an incorporated town, because the incorporated town, in most cases, was incorporated under a special act of the Legislature passed prior to the constitution of 1870 and under and by virtue of which the town still exercises such power as it has. A special charter like this might confer other or different powers than those conferred upon a village organized under the Cities and Villages Act." 2 Rev. Stat., ch. 139, sec. 1-7. 56 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS side of the city of Joliet. There are also eight cities in Ilhnois coextensive with townships — East St. Louis, Springfield (Capitol Tw'p.), Evanston ("Town of the City of Evanston"), (i) Rock Island, Moline, Macomb, Berwyn, and Belleville. The village of Oak Park is also coextensive with the township of the same name." The city of Cairo is coextensive with the election 'pre- cinct of the same name. Cairo's county, Alexander, is a " non-township " county. These facts illustrate the truth of Dr. Fairlie's conclusion that the " system of local gov- ernment in Illinois as a whole is more complicated and con- fusing than in any other State." ^ III. The Town Legislature. The General Assem- bly of the State and the county board are representative bodies elected by the voters. On the other hand, in the town the law-making body is the voters themselves assem- bled in a town- or mass-meeting. This means a pure democracy and is the only instance of such kind of govern- ment in Illinois. The annual town-meeting is held the first Tuesday in April. This is the months for all regular local elections in Illinois except that for the county officers, which occurs in November at the same time as the election for State officers, congressmen, United States senators,^ and Presidential electors. Towns lying wholly within the limits of a city elect town officers on the same day as the city elections, the third Tuesday in April, except in Chicago, Evanston, and several 3 Town and County Government in Illinois, by John A. Fairlie, in Report of Joint-Legislative Com., 47th General Assembly, 1912, Vol. II. Also see article, same title and author, in Annals Am. Acad., May I9I3> PP- i-4> 9-12. Dr. Fairlie's reports are classics on the very difficult subject of local government in Illinois. * Seventeenth Amendment, Constitution U. S., 1913. Popular elec- tion U. S. senators. TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS IN ILLINOIS 57 other cities where the old towns are practically abolished and the work of the town officers performed by the city officials. The business of the town-meeting, presided over by a chairman called a moderator, is now very slight : to elect town officers, hear reports, provide for keeping the roads clear of stray cattle, and a few other duties. The town government is for rural communities, and is very much out of date for cities and large villages. In New England and in the rural counties of Illinois under township or- ganization, the town-meeting is still " a school for citizen- ship." IV. Town Executive Officers. The town officers are a supervisor (with assistant supervisors in the more populous towns), tozirn clerk, assessor, collector, now elected for two-year terms ; ^ three commissioners of high- ways, elected for three years, one retiring each year ; ^ justices of the peace and constables, from two to five ac- cording to population, elected every four years. These town officers are paid by the day for actual services, or by fee. It would be much better if they were paid annual salaries and required to render strict account of all fees received. There is a town hoard of health, consisting of the supervisor, assessor, and town clerk. Also a board of toivn auditors, made up of the supervisor, clerk, and justices of the peace, that examines all accounts of the town offices. Supervisor. In counties under township organization, except Cook County, the supervisor acts in two capacities : as chief executive for the town and as a member of the county board. As a town officer he handles all town funds 5 Since April, 1910. Rev. Stat., ch. 139, sec. 154. 6 May elect only one, if voters of township choose. 58 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS except school money ;'^ is ex-officio overseer of the poor, and provides temporary rehef for persons in need, or ar- ranges for their care in the county infirmary (poor house). In towns of more than 4,000 population there may be a special poor master appointed by the county board. In this case there is little left for the supervisor to do, because the town tax levy is only a few hundred dollars. The average for 1912, outside of Cook County, was only $615. Town Clerk keeps the records of town-meetings and all books, and papers for the town ; certifies to the county clerk the amount of taxes required for town purposes and acts as clerk for the highway commissioners. Assessor places a value on all taxable real estate within the town and distributes and receives all personal property schedules.^ The election of town assessors frequently il- lustrates the " survival of the unfit," because they get re- election on the promise to assess property in the town low, regardless of needs. Collector receives all general taxes in the township and pays them over to the proper officers, retaining his per- centage for collection.^ Highway Commissioners (one or three, as the town- ship decides at an election), levy the road and bridge tax. This road tax must now (1913) be paid in money. A poll (head) tax, from one to two dollars, may be levied for road or bridge building. ^^ This is the only poll tax ever levied in Illinois. (See Chapter IV, The County.) "^ Will act as town treasurer after April 1914, and custodian of the road and bridge money. Session Laws, 1913. ^ See ch. v, The Public Pocketbook, p. 91 ^ See ch. v, The Public Pocketbook, p. 95. ^^ State Aid Good Roads Law, in force, July i, 1913. TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS IN ILLINOIS 59 Justices of the Peace ^^ and Constables are the judi- cial officers of the town. There must be at least two in each township, so that a case may be changed from one justice's court to the other if any partiahty is shown either party in the suit. This is called " change of venue." The number of justices and constables can not exceed five. Al- though elected in the township, their jurisdiction extends over the entire county. The jurisdiction of a justice of the peace is limited to petty, civil and criminal cases involving not more than $200, or where the punishment is by fine only, not over $200 and costs. They may try violations of the dram-shop law, cases of assault, or assault and battery; but they may ex- amine any case and bind the offender over to await the ac- tion of the grand jury. This will hold him in the county jail until his trial unless he can secure bail. Justices also have the right to perform marriage cere- monies. They may put any violent or disorderly person under a bond to keep the peace. Justices are paid by fees and this is often a source of much injustice and petty graft. Our petty courts would be much improved if justices of the peace and constables were paid fixed salaries and the fees collected went into the town or the county treasury. The orders of the justice of the peace are enforced by the constable. It is his duty also to keep peace in the town and arrest offenders. In counties without towtiship organiza- tion, the justices and constables are chosen in each elec- 11 Ridgeville Township had the distinction of having the first woman as justice of the peace in Illinois, Mrs. Catherine Waugh McCulloch, of Evanston. She was elected April 1907, and reelected April 1909. She held an office for which she could not vote herself, a curious anomaly. Two other women have been elected justices of the peace in Illinois since Mrs. McCulloch's election, but she was the pioneer. 6o ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS tion district into which such counties are divided by the county board. Town officers do their most important work as agents of the State and county governments, especially in the assess- ment and collection of taxes. " Non-Township " Counties. There are seventeen " non-township " counties in Illinois. These seventeen counties have assessors, collectors, highway commissioners, justices of the peace, and constables elected in " road dis- tricts " and " election precincts " into which these coun- ties are divided by the county board. They do not have supervisors or town clerks because the duties of these of- ficers are performed by the three county commissioners and the county clerk. The following comparison of the peace officers in cities and towns is of value: DIFFERENCES, POLICEMAN AND CONSTABLE Policeman Constable 1. Has regular hours, a " beat," Has none of these. or place to patrol, and a uniform. 2. Can serve warrants only. Can serve all writs. 3. May arrest on sight. Must have a warrant. 4. Has relation to criminal ac- Has relations to both criminal tions only. and civil actions. 5. Executes orders of a mayor. Executes orders of a judicial officer as police magistrate, justice of the peace, or judge. 6. Jurisdiction is the city. Jurisdiction is the county. 7. Is appointed by chief of po- Is elected in each township; lice and the mayor; usually number depends on popula- under civil-service rules. tion and cannot in Illinois be more than five. 8. Term is good behavior. Term is four years. TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS IN ILLINOIS 6i V. Township Survey Systems. The old colonial system of surveying land was very crude and unsatisfactory. The old boundaries were trees, even stumps, a " quart of charcoal buried under a certain tree," and similar remov- able marks. Confusion of ownership resulted, and many lawsuits over the title to land. The rectangular system of surveys now in use throughout the West was adopted by Congress (1785) and is called the " simplest of all known modes of survey." Thomas Jefferson was chairman of the committee in Congress that proposed this system and therefore the plan is often attributed to him; but the real originator was Thomas Hutchins, the first surveyor-gen- eral of the United States. (Currey, Hist. Chicago, Vol. I.) 1. Congressional Townships. Nearly all public land in the West is divided into townships of six miles square " as near as may be," called congressional townships. Some prominent geographical feature, as the mouth of a river, is taken for a starting point and through this is drawn a meridian line running north and south, known as the principal meridian. Through this line at some selected point and at right angles to it is run another line called the base line. Starting at the intersection of these two lines the surveyor measures off distances of six miles on both, and through these points runs new intersecting lines. The squares of land thus formed contain 36 square miles, " or thereabouts," and are the congressional tozunships, bounded by the lines running north and south, east and west. 2. Sections. Each township is subdivided by a further series of similar lines into 36 squares, each containing one .square mile (640 acres), called a section. Each section is generally divided still further into quarter-sections of 160 acres each; these tracts of land are often subdivided. All 62 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS these divisions are described by the points of the compass. The sections in a township are numbered east and west, west and east, alternately. The northeast section is always No. I and the southeast section is always No. 36. A Township with Sections Subdivisions of a Section, Numbered. Diagram A. 6 5 4 3 2 1 7 8 9 10 11 12 18 17 16 15 14 13 19 20 21 22 23 24 SO 29 28 27 26 25 81 32 33 34 35 36 Diagram B. NE>^ SW^ * ^ ^ NEV40F SEV4 t tt sv2°^SEy4 3. Problems. Describe divisions marked, *, *, f, tt, and give area of each. Locate the following pieces of land: 1. Nw]^ nw^ S6.12 2. Ei^ s^ S12. 3. N^ ne^ S36. 4. S>4 nj^ sw>4 S27. 5. W^ se^ Sio. 7. Se^ sw^ S15. 8. Sy2 wwYa Si. 9. S^ sw^ S7. 10. S>4 s^ sw^ S31. 11. Ne^ ne^ S35. 12. Read and explain: Tp. 41 n R. 14 e 3rd P. M. Note, — This is the congressional or school township, for the city of Evanston. It has two school districts, Nos. 75 and 76. Find the number of your township and school district. VI. Convergence of the Meridians. Converging meridians, because of the convexity of the earth, make 12 S6, Si 2, etc., refer to the section number. TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS IN ILLINOIS 63 necessary new base lines and guide meridians every forty- eight miles in the latitude of Illinois in order to correct the discrepancies in the size of the townships. Six of the principal meridians of the United States are numbered and the remaining eighteen are named. The greater part of Illinois is surveyed from the third principal meridian run- ning through the mouth of the Ohio River. Its base line crosses it at Centralia in Jefferson County. Parts of Illi- nois are surveyed from the second and fourth meridians. Every civics pupil should understand the township survey system used by the United States Government. An ex- cellent account of the township survey system is found in Government of Illinois, by Harry Pratt Judson, pp. 30- 37. See also Currey, Hist, of Chicago, Vol. I, pp. 226, 227; James and Sanford, Government in State and Na- tion, Revised Edition, pp. 280-283; also Townsend, Illi- nois and the Nation, ch. i. Any commercial arithmetic will also give space to the topic. SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS (For pupils living in counties under township organization.) 1. When is your township election? 2. What township officers do you elect? 3. How do you care for the poor in your township? 4. How many townships in your county? 5. Bound the one in which you live. 6. (a) What was done at your last town-meeting? (b) How many voters attended? (c) Ought the town-meeting to be abol- ished? (d) Who would do its present work? (Ask the town clerk to let you see the report of that meeting.) 7. What does it cost to run your township? 8. For what is the money spent? 9. Can women vote for township officers in Illinois? Can they serve as township officers? 64 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS' 10. For what offices are women especially fitted? (Give rea- sons for your answer.) 11. Has your township good roads? If not, how can you get better ones ? 12. How do bad roads increase the cost of living? 13. Who are the justices of the peace in your township? 14. Who assesses the property in your township? 15. Who collects the taxes in your township? CHAPTER IV COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS References ; 1. Town and County Government in Illinois, J. A. Fairlie, in Re- port Joint Legislative Committee, 47th General Assembly, Vol. II, pp. 76-132. This is by far the most thorough report on this subject. Get from Secretary of State, Springfield. 2. Annals American Academy, May 1913, is devoted entirely to county government and is very valuable. 3. Greene: Government of Illinois, pp. 95-99. Local government is " neighborhood government," or " home rule." The county, city, village, township, sani- tary, school, and park districts are the local governments in Illinois and perform the duties of social, or community, service. The county is the largest local government within the State, and touches the lives of the greatest number of peo- ple. Illinois has 102 counties, ranging in area from less than 200 to over 1,000 square miles, and in population from 1,000 to over 2,400,000. The principal work of the county in Illinois is to (i) Levy and collect taxes. (2) Administer justice. (3) Have charge of the local charity service. (4) Have charge of elections. See American Republic, pp. 163-165. How many of the officers there named does your county have? (Write 66 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS your county clerk for a copy of the county budget, or ap- propriation bill, to answer this question.) County Boards. County boards in Illinois are of three types : A board of three commissioners elected at large in the seventeen counties not under township organi- zation ; a board of supervisors, elected one from each town, in the eighty- four counties under township organization; a board of fifteen commissioners in Cook County, ten elected from Chicago and five from the rest of the county. The boards of supervisors are frequently too large for efficient government, La Salle County, for instance, having over fifty members. " Non-Township " Counties. There are seventeen non-township counties now in Illinois. They are generally small in area and are in the southern part of the State. The list includes Alexander, Calhoun, Cass, Edwards, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Menard, Monroe, Morgan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Scot, Union, and Wabash. In 1907, two counties, Henderson and Williamson, adopted township government by popular vote. These seventeen counties elect three county commissioners for a term of three years, one being chosen each year. This board of commissioners is the chief executive and legislative author- ity in the county, holding five regular meetings each year to transact all county business. These " non-township " counties are divided into precincts for election purposes and road districts for highway purposes. County government in Illinois shares the faults of such government throughout the United States, and is too often a " tax-eater " without showing commensurate benefits. It is " like a big touring-car with the engine going, the clutch on, but no driver in the front seat." A " driver " COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 67 is too often found in the county boss who distributes the county patronage. Complete relief can only come through amending the State constitution. Three things need to be secured to make county govern- ment more efficient in Illinois : A. Unity of organization (fewer officers). B. Administration by experts. C. Simplicity of citizenship through a shorter ballot. (Elect fewer officers on one ballot.) " You can not get good service from a public servant if you can not see him, and there is no more effective way to hide him than by mixing him up with a multitude of others so that they are none of them important enough to catch the eye of the average work-a-day citizen." — Roosevelt's Columbus Speech, IQ12. Study the duties of the executive and judicial officers of the county through those of Cook County. Are any of these officers omitted in your county? About eight coun- ties outside of Cook have a separate probate judge. Half a dozen counties, notably Adams and Sangamon, have a special juvenile court and a separate juvenile detention home. The usual county officers are the county board, sheriff, coroner, county clerk, treasurer (who also acts as asses- sor in the non-township counties), superintendent of schools. State's attorney, county surveyor, county judge, clerk of the circuit court, who also acts as recorder unless a county has more than 60,000 population, when a recorder of deeds is elected. In each county outside of Cook there are elected from nine to thirteen officers. 68 ACTUAL GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS COOK COUNTY Early History. Cook County was organized by act of the General Assembly, January 15, 1831, in the " winter of the deep snow," and included the present counties of Lake, Dupage, Cook, and Will. The county was named in honor of Daniel P. Cook, formerly Illinois representative in Congress. The little town of Chicago, not yet incorporated, was made the county seat. In June of the same year the Legislature granted the new county twenty- four canal lots containing land which had been given to Illinois by the United States to encour- age the construction of a canal to connect the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. Part of these lots were sold to defray the current expenses of the new county, but eight lots were set aside for a public square to be always used for govern- ment buildings. This square is now the site of the Court House and City Hall and was originally a gift to the new county from Illinois. On this block of land was erected the first public structure, called the " Estray Pen," a small wooden, roofless enclosure, the first *' pound." See Gov- ernmental History of Chicago, by Hugo S. Grosser. In the autumn of 1835 the first court house was built on the Clark and Randolph Street corner of this public square. It was a small one-story brick building with a base- ment in which were the county offices, while the court room, seating two htmdred persons, occupied the floor above. That insignificant brick building, contrasted with the present five-million-dollar court house on the same site, is a symbol of the growth of Cook County in eight decades. Area and Population. The area of Cook County is over 1,000 square miles. It ranks third in Illinois in size i i ^._i ^._L COUA/rV OF COOK c/ryoFCH/c/)60 5/iOiV/A/(S TO^//JWP3 Prcpartd B