the lieutenant governor, who must have the same qualifications and be elected at the same time and for the same term as the governor. Unlike the governor and other state officers, however, he is not required to reside at the seat of government during his term of office and receives a much smaller salary, namely $2,500 per annum. In case of the death, conviction on impeachment, failure to qualify, resignation, absence from the state, or other disability of the governor, the lieutenant governor assumes the powers, duties, and emoluments of the office during the remainder of the term, or until the disability shall be removed. When such vacancy occurs in the governor's office, the lieutenant governor becomes merely acting governor and at the same time retains the office of lieutenant governor." Ordinarily, however, the only function which the lieutenant governor performs is that of acting as presiding officer of the senate. He has no vote in the senate except when that body is equally divided; nor does he ordinarily participate in debate, except that he may speak to points of order in preference to other members. He is ex officio a member of the executive committee of the senate. During the organization of the senate at the beginning of the first regular session in a new administration, the lieutenant governor under the previous administration continues to preside over the senate until it is organized and the new state officers are declared duly elected. As presiding officer of the senate during its organization the lieutenant governor, since there is no committee on credentials yet chosen, must necessarily determine, temporarily, who is entitled to be sworn in and seated as members of that body.s

The secretary of state, like the lieutenant governor, is elected at the same time and for the same term as the governor. He thus derives his authority from the same source as that of the governor and is consequently not under the superior administrative control of the governor. His duties are prescribed,

5 Constitution, article v, section 17.

6 Report of the Attorney-General, 1912, p. 162. Senate Journal, 1915, p. 12, 18.

8 Opinions of the Attorney-General, 1915, p. 457.

not by the governor, but by the constitution and statutes. Thus, under the constitution he is made keeper of the great seal of the state, to be used by him, officially, as directed by law. His duties are of a very miscellaneous character. Thus, he calls the house of representatives to order at the opening of each new assembly and presides over it until a temporary presiding officer has been chosen and has taken his seat. He is the keeper of the public records and documents of the state and custodian of the buildings, grounds, furniture, and supplies of the state at Springfield. He has important functions to perform in connection with primary and general elections; he grants charters and certificates of incorporation, registers motor vehicles, and licenses chauffeurs. He was formerly ex officio state sealer of weights and measures and is still ex officio member of certain state boards. It will be seen that his duties. are of a very heterogeneous character, and many of them might well be transferred to other officers or departments of the state government.

One of the most important of the older constitutional state officers is the attorney-general, who is elected by popular vote at the same time and for the same term as the governor. He receives an annual salary of $10,000 and is required by law to turn all fees collected by him into the state treasury. The powers and duties of the attorney-general are to some extent determined by the common law, but for the most part they are defined by statute. In general he appears in all cases before the courts in which the state is a party or interested and defends actions brought against any state officer in his official capacity. He represents the state before the court of claims and brings proceedings for the enforcement of the state laws. In his discretion he may at certain stages of the proceedings abandon the prosecution.10 An important phase of his duties consists in acting as legal advisor to the governor, other state officers, the general assembly and either branch or any com

Constitution, article IV, section 9, article v, section 22.

10 People v. Spring Lake Drainage and Levee District, 253 Illinois, 479.

mittee thereof, to whom he is required, when requested, to give written opinions upon constitutional or legal questions. He is not required to give official opinions to municipal or other local officers nor to private individuals but may, as a matter of courtesy, do so. Among his miscellaneous duties, he served formerly as ex officio member of the board of commissioners of state contracts; and, by an act of 1913, he exercises general supervision over the assessment and collection of the state inheritance tax.11

In spite of his important powers, the legal business of the state has not heretofore been concentrated in the hands of the attorney-general. It has been divided among the attorneygeneral, the special attorneys for various state boards, departments, and commissions, and the local prosecuting attorneys, known as states attorneys. Neither the special attorneys nor the states attorneys have been under any effective control by the attorney-general. The constitutionality of the practice of employing special attorneys for state departments and boards, though sanctioned by legislative enactments, has been questioned by Attorneys-general Howland J. Hamlin, William H. Stead, and Patrick J. Lucey.12 No authoritative decision upon this question, however, was had until 1915 when the supreme court held, that "The Attorney General is the chief law officer of the State and the only officer empowered to represent the people in any suit or proceeding in which the State is the real party in interest, except where the constitution or a constitutional statute may provide otherwise, and he is the sole official adviser of the executive officers and of all boards, commissions, and departments of the State government;" and, consequently, an appropriation to the state insurance superintendent for the legal services of special counsel is unconstitutional and void.13 The law business of the state is thus largely concentrated in the hands of the attorney-general,

11 Laws of 1913, P. 513.

12 Report of the Attorney-General, 1901-1902, p. 7, 391; 1908, p. ix; Report of the Efficiency and Economy Committee, 957.

13 Fergus v. Russel, 270 Illinois, 304.