IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNCTIONS OF DEPARTMENTS UNDER THE CIVIL ADMINISTRATIVE CODE. General. The Civil Administrative Code was enacted by the General Assembly in 1917 and went into effect July first of that year. It reorganized and consolidated fifty or more functions and departments, previously existing independently of each other, into nine departments, with a director appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate for a term of four years, at the head of each department. Several administrative and unpaid advisory boards were created in the various departments. It is the duty of the advisory boards to consider and study the entire field of their work; to advise the executive officers of their departments upon the request of such officers; to recommend on their own initiative, policies and practices, which recommendations the executive officers of the department are directed to consider, and give advice or make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly when so requested, or on their own initiative. The advisory boards have the power to investigate the conduct of the work of the departments with which they are associated. Such boards must hold meetings not less frequently than quarterly, and the director of the department and the Governor may be present and be heard upon any matter coming before the board. Members of such boards receive no compensation. One private secretary for each director is exempt from the classified civil service of the state. The salaries of the directors vary from $5,000 to $7,000 per annum and are payable monthly. Each officer, whose office is created by the code is required to take and subscribe the constitutional oath of office, which oath must be filed in the office of the secretary of state. Each executive and administrative officer, whose office is created by the code, is requried to give a bond with security to be approved by the Governor, in such penal sum as the Governor may fix, not less than $10,000, which bond is to be filed in the office of the secretary of state. Annually, on or before the first day of December, and at such other times as the Governor may require, the dirctors of the departments are required to report to the Governor in writing concerning the condition, management and financial transactions of their respective departments. In addition to such reports, each director of a department is required to make the semi-annual and biennial reports required by the constitution. The directors of departments are directed to devise a practical and working basis for co-operation and co-ordination of work, eliminating duplication and overlapping of functions. Whenever power is vested by the code in a department to inspect, examine, secure data or information or procure assistance from another department, a duty is imposed upon the department upon which the demand is made, to make such power effective. Under the power given to the director of each department to make rules and regulations for the distribution and performance of its business, each department has been organized into various "divisions." The names of these divisions may be ascertained by consulting the appropriation acts and they are also listed later in this chapter under the discussion of the functions of each department. These divisions follow quite closely the officers and board expressly designated in the statute. The code provides for an assistant director in each department and the follownig outline shows the other officers, boards and departments expressly designated and provided for in the organization prescribed by the statute. Department of Finance: Administrative auditor. Superintendent of department reports. General manager of the state fair. Chief game and fish warden. Board of agricultural advisers. Board of state fair advisers. Department of Labor: Chief factory inspector. Superintendent of free employment offices. Board of Illinois free employment office advisers. Board of local Illinois free employment office advisers for each free employment office. Department of Mines and Minerals: Mining board. Miners' examining board. Department of Public Works and Buildings: Superintendent of highways. Chief highway engineer. Supervising architect. Supervising engineer. Superintendent of waterways. Superintendent of printing. Superintendent of purchases and supplies, Superintendent of parks. Board of art advisers. Board of water resource advisers. Board of parks and buildings advisers. Department of Public Welfare: Alienist. Fiscal supervisor. Supervisor of charities. Superintendent of prisons. Superintendent of pardons and paroles. Superintendent of lodging house inspection. Superintendent of standards. Public utilities commission. Department of Registration and Education: Superintendent of registration. Normal school board. Board of natural resources and conservation advisers. Immigrants commission. All of these officers, boards and commissions are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. The miners' examining board, the industrial commission, the public utilities commission, the normal school board and the tax commission are included in this organization, but these boards and commissions perform their duties without any direction, supervision or control, by the directors of their respective departments. Department of Finance. The function of the department of finance is to provide a centralized control of expenditures of all departments responsible to the Governor, and to prepare a state budget. It has the power to prescribe a uniform system of bookkeeping, accounting and reporting for the several departments under the Civil Administrative Code, to examine into the accuracy and legality of their accounts and expenditures, and to examine the accounts of every private corporation, institution, association or board receiving appropriations from the General Assembly. It also has power to prescribe uniform rules concerning the purchase of supplies. It is required to report to the attorney general for such action as he may deem necessary, all facts showing illegal expenditures of public money or misappropriation of public property. No voucher, bill or claim, of any department under the Civil Administrative Code may be allowed without its ap proval and certificate. It examines and approves all vouchers, bills and claims of the several departments and such as are by law made subject to the approval of the Governor and referred to it by the Governor. It may publish, from time to time, bulletins of the work of government. It may investigate duplication of work of the departments, and their efficiency, and formulate plans for their better co-ordination. For the preparation of the state budget, the director of finance, not later than September 15 of the year preceding the convening of the General Assembly, distributes to all departments of the state government, including the judicial department, the University of Illinois. and the elective officers of the executive department, the proper blanks necessary for the preparation of the budget estimates. Not later than the first day of November each department must return these blanks showing its estimates of receipts and expenditures for the next biennium. Such statement must be accompanied by a statement in writing giving facts and explanations of reasons for each item of expenditure requested. The director of finance may make further inquiries concerning any item, and he may approve, disapprove, or alter the estimates. On or before the first day of January preceding the convening of the General Assembly, he submits to the Governor in writing the state budget, showing his estimates of revenues and appropriations for the next biennium. The code also provides for an administrative auditor, a superintendent of department reports and a superintendent of the budget in this department. In 1919 a tax commission was created in the department of finance composed of three members, appointed by the Governor. Their term of office is six years. The director of finance is the secretary and executive officer of the tax commission in its clerical and administrative functions, but the tax commission performs its duties in the assessment of property for taxation without any control by the director of finance. In connection with its duties concerning the assessment of property for taxation, this commission has direction and supervision of "local assessment officers," which term includes township assessors, boards of assessors, the county treasurer and boards of review. Department of Agriculture. The function of the department of agriculture is to encourage and promote, in every practicable manner, the interest of agriculture, including horticulture, the live stock industry, dairying, cheese-making, poultry, beekeeping, forestry, fishing, the production of wool, and all other allied industries. The department of agriculture exercises the rights, powers and duties previously vested by law in the board of live stock commissioners (excepting under the act regulating the practice of veterinary medicine and surgery), the state veterinarian, the stallion registration board, state inspector of apiaries, game and fish commission, food commissioner, food standard commission, and the state entomologist. This department executes and administers the act to prevent fraud in the manufacture and sale of commercial fertilizers. It collects and publishes statistics relating to crop production and marketing of agricultural products. It produces and manufactures biological products to be distributed to live stock producers at actual cost, and it is its duty to inquire into the causes of contagious, infectious and communicable diseases among domestic animals and means for prevention and cure. It is the duty of the department of agriculture to encourage the planting of trees and shrubs and the improvement of farm homes generally. It is also its duty to see that live stock at stock yards, breweries, distilleries and other like places, where live stock is confined, housed or fed, is properly cared for. In this department, there is a board of agricultural advisers composed of fifteen persons; a board of state fair advisers composed of nine persons, not more than three of whom may be appointed from any one county; and a food standard commission. The superintendent of foods and dairies and two officers, designated as food standard officers, constitute the food standard commission. The code provides for a general manager of the state fair, a superintendent of foods and dairies, a superintendent of animal industry, a chief veterinarian and a chief game and fish warden in this department. For administrative purposes the following "divisions" have been organized: General office. Game and fish division. Animal industry and veterinary science division. Apiary inspection division. Plant industry division. The department of agriculture is charged with the administration of the laws concerning the adulteration and inspection of food products, the sale of paints and compounds, the prevention of the spread of contagious diseases among domestic animals, and the uniform cold storage act, the pure seed act and the plant inspection act. also charged with the licensing of commission merchants, egg breaking establishments, egg dealers and ice cream manufacturers. All regularly licensed veterinary surgeons employed by the department of agriculture are exempt from the classified civil service of the state. The director of agriculture is ex-officio a member of the board for vocational education, and the farmers' institute. County assessors and deputy assessors are required to collect and tabulate such agricultural information as may be required by the department of agriculture, at the time provided by law for the assessment of property. Commissioners of Canada thistles are required to send a report to the director of agriculture, who must collect and report the same to the Governor on or before December first of each year. The department of agriculture has general supervision of all measures adopted for the extermination of Canada thistles. |