established the counties of St. Clair (in 1790) and Randolph (in 1795). The county organization established resembled that of Virginia, with sheriffs, justices of the peace, and other officers appointed by the governor. Provision was, however, also made for establishing civil townships, as in Pennsylvania, with officials appointed by the county court.

In 1800, the Illinois region was included in the newly created territory of Indiana. Some changes and additions to the machinery of local administration were made by the governor and judges of Indiana, and also by the territorial legislature established in 1805; and a revised code of territorial laws enacted in 1807 included a number of chapters relating to local government.

In 1809, the territory of Illinois was organized; and further changes were made in the details of local government, especially relating to the local courts. As settlements increased, thirteen new counties were formed from 1812 to 1818. Local records also show the existence of civil townships within the counties.

Under the constitution of 1818. The first state constitution of Illinois provided for the election in each county of a sheriff, a coroner, and three county commissioners; and authorized the General Assembly to provide for the appointment of justices of the peace, surveyors of highways, constables and other local officers. Judges of the higher courts were to be appointed by the General Assembly; and clerks of courts were to be appointed by the judges.

These decentralized provisions were in the direction of the Pennsylvania system of local government, which had been followed in Ohio and Indiana. The civil townships were also continued for a time; but a series of acts passed between 1823 and 1827 provided for several kinds of sub-districts within the counties for elections, roads and other local purposes, eliminating the civil township; and in this respect the local government became more similar to that of Kentucky and Virginia. At the same time, the congressional township became a local unit for school affairs; and this formed a basis for the later development of the township system of local government.

New counties were created at almost every session of the General Assembly; and by 1848 a total of 100 had been established.1 Many counties in the southern part of the state were very small both in area and population. The Revised Statutes of 1845 established restrictions on the formation of new counties, the transfer of territory and the removal of county seats.

Other changes in local government during this period were also steadily in the direction of further decentralization. Justices of the peace were made elective in 1827. About 100 incorporated towns were organized by special charters, or after 1831, under a general law; and seven cities were established by special charters.

1 One of them, Highland, was later reunited to Adams County; and only three additional counties have been organized since 1848-Kankakee in 1853, and Douglas and Ford in 1859.

The school laws of 1841 and 1845 provided for the local election of school trustees for each school township, and the formation of school districts within each township.

Constitution of 1848. In the constitutional convention of 1847-48, a number of important changes in local government were proposed. The various proposals were referred to several different committees, and the committee reports presented conflicting recommendations to the convention, while a number of minority reports increased the complications. The result was a compromise between conflicting ideas, and the adoption of a number of detailed provisions not based on consistent principles.

Some provisions were in the direction of a simpler and more concentrated machinery of local government. Restrictions on the formation of new counties, and on transfers of territory, taken from the Revised Statutes of 1845, served to put an end to the further creation of more counties. In the same direction was the union of the administrative functions of the county commissioners with the work of the probate justices in a new system of county courts.

On the other hand, while the coroner was omitted from the list of constitutional county officers, a number of additional elective constitutional officers were provided, including county judges, state's or county attorneys, clerks of circuit courts, and justices of the peace. Another provision, authorizing an optional system of township organization, opened the way to further decentralization of local administration to meet the wishes of the northern and central counties, which were being settled largely from eastern states with township gov

ernment.

The township system was more definitely provided for by an optional law of 1849, which was revised in 1851 and 1861, and amended from time to time; and was also governed in some respects by the revenue laws of 1853 and 1855. County and township government, under these laws, resembled that in New York and Michigan, rather than that in Ohio and Indiana; and the town governments fell far short of the powers of the New England towns. Town meetings were provided, but they had few powers; and the principal functions were vested in town officers for the administration of local roads and for state functions such as the assessment and collection of taxes. In counties which adopted the township system, boards of supervisors elected by towns took over the administrative functions of the county

courts.

The township system was rapidly adopted in many counties. At the election in November, 1849, it was accepted by 24 counties (17 north of the Illinois river and 7 in the central part of the state). By 1860, it had been established in 36 additional counties; and by 1870 in 10 more counties, a total of 70 of the 102 counties. Since 1870, it has been adopted by 16 other counties (14 by 1890 and 2 since then), one of which was definitely returned to the county system. Several

other counties, after adopting the township system, have voted to discontinue it, and have later readopted it.

Notwithstanding the rapid extension of the township system, the separate incorporation of towns (villages) and cities continued much more rapidly than before. In counties which adopted the township system, the number of very small incorporated towns was somewhat less than in counties not under the township system; but even where the township system was established, many incorporated towns were organized within the townships. By 1870 there were more than 400 incorporated municipalities in the state, including 43 cities.

Many of the incorporated towns organized during this period were established under the general law for the incorporation of towns; but many of these towns secured special acts with additional powers; and many towns and all of the cities were governed entirely by means of special legislation. Much special legislation was also passed for counties and other local districts; and the enormous mass of private and special laws relating to local government was one of the most striking features of the period under the constitution of 1848, especially after 1860.

In 1857, the private laws formed a volume of 1,550 pages. In 1869, they formed four volumes of 3,350 pages, of which 1,850 pages related to cities, towns and schools.

Proposed constitution of 1862. The proposed constitution of 1862 contained a number of additional provisions relating to local government, most of which were afterwards included, with others, in the constitution of 1870.

Local or special laws were prohibited on certain subjects, including laying out, opening, altering and working on roads or highways; vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys and public squares; locating and changing county seats; regulating county and township business; and regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace and constables.

The prohibition on the loan of public credit or aiding corporations or associations (placed on the state in 1848) was extended to any county, city, town, township or school district.

A uniform system of courts was provided, but with some special provisions as to the number of judges and court clerks in Cook county.

The coroner was restored to the list of elective county officers; and provision was made for the election of a recorder of deeds in counties with more than 35,000 population, and a probate judge and a probate clerk in counties with more than 100,000 population.

Provision was made for discontinuing township organization by à vote of the county.

Constitution of 1870. In the constitutional convention of 1869-70 many changes and additions were proposed in relation to local

government; and the new constitution contained a much greater amount of detail, imposing further restrictions on the General Assembly and also on the local governments.

The most important change was the prohibition of local or special legislation in a list of 23 enumerated subjects. A considerable number of the subjects in the enumerated list related to local government, as follows:

Laying out, opening, altering and working roads or highways;
Vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys and public grounds;
Locating or changing county seats;

Regulating county and township affairs;

Regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace, police magistrates and constables;

Incorporating cities, towns or villages, or changing or amending the charter of any town, city or village;

Providing for the management of common schools;

The opening and conducting of any election, or designating the place of voting;

Chartering or licensing ferries or toll bridges;

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

Granting to any corporation, association or individual, the right to lay down railroad tracks, or amending existing charters for such purpose.

At the same time, the constitution includes a series of special provisions relating to the courts, county commissioners, and other county officers in Cook County.

In the article on the Judicial Department, several changes were made in the provisions relating to county courts. The election of county judges by districts of two or more counties was authorized. The jurisdiction of county courts was enlarged; and the establishment of separate probate courts in counties of over 50,000 population was authorized. A state's attorney was to be elected in each county, in place of one for each judicial circuit. As already noted, special provisions were adopted relating to the courts of Cook County.

Further details were added to the regulations for the removal of county seats. Voters on this question are required to have resided in the county six months and in the precinct ninety days before the election. The question of removal may not be submitted oftener than once in ten years. And a three-fifths vote is required for the removal of a county seat farther from the center of the county.

For the management of county business in counties not under township organization, a board of county commissioners was again provided (as under the constitution of 1818), to take over the administrative functions of the county court, under the constitution of 1848. For Cook County, a special provision established a board of 15 county commissioners, 10 elected from the city of Chicago and 5 from the towns outside the city.

Additions were made to the list of constitutional county officers. Besides adding the state's attorney, the coroner was again named, and provision was made for electing probate judges and recorders of deeds in counties with over 50,000 and 60,000 population respectively. Several sections dealt in considerable detail with the fees and compensation of county officers and required semi-annual reports of fees, with special provisions for Cook County.

It was proposed to require township organization throughout the state; and this led to some discussion of the township system. The optional provisions were however retained, with additions relating to votes on adopting and on continuing or discontinuing the township system, providing that no two townships should have the same name and requiring the day of the annual town meeting to be uniform. throughout the state.

In the article on Revenue, a limit of 75 cents on the $100 assessed valuation was established for county taxes, unless an excess be approved by a vote of the people of the county. A more definite provision was adopted relating to taxes for corporate purposes; and authorizing cities, towns and villages to make local improvements by special assessment or by special taxation of contiguous property or otherwise.

As a result of the great increase in municipal debts during the preceding decade (largely for aid to railroads), a limit of five per cent was placed on such debts, with a further provision requiring the levy of an annual tax to pay interest on any debt and to discharge the principal within twenty years.

The general effect of these changes and additions was to stereotype the existing system of detailed legislative control, without administrative supervision, and to make changes in that system almost impossible. The only method left for meeting new problems and for avoiding in some measure the restrictions imposed was the creation of new classes of local districts and local authorities; and this has added further complications to the organization of local government throughout the state.

Legislation since 1870. At the session of the General Assembly in 1872, a series of revised laws relating to local government were passed, which were for the most part incorporated in the Revised Statutes of 1874. These included:

Several acts relating to fees and salaries of county and township officers.

An act relating to public libraries, approved March 7, 1872.

An act to provide for the removal of county seats, approved March 15, 1872.

An act in regard to roads and bridges, approved March 21, 1872. An act for the assessment of property and for the levy and collection of taxes, approved April 1, 1872.