Chambers v. People ex rel. Fuller

Citations

• 113 Ill. 509
• 1885 Ill. LEXIS 724

Syllabus

<p>1. Taxation—sale of land for taxes—legislative power. Section 4, article 9,- of the State constitution, contains no express grant of power to the legislature to provide for the sale of real estate for taxes, though it clearly recognizes such power, by imposing limitations and restrictions upon its exercise. Viewed merely as a limitation, as it is, there is nothing in it prohibiting the legislature from providing for the sale of real estate for the nonpayment of taxes, interest and penalties, and costs, except that the sale shall be made by a general officer authorized to receive State and county taxes, and not by him except in pursuance of an order of some court of record.</p> <p>2. Same—penalty for non-payment of taxes—constitutionality, as respects the rule of uniformity, or the mode of enforcement. The addition of the penalty of ten per cent, as required by section 129 of the Revenue act, prior to July 1, 1879, and twenty-five per cent by that section as amended in 1879, is not in violation of the rule of uniformity required by the constitution in respect to taxes. Nor is such provision obnoxious to the objection that it attempts to confer the power of imposing such penalties, upon the county clerk, without affording the tax debtor an opportunity of being heard by a court. The penalty is imposed by law, and not by the ministerial officer who extends the same upon the tax books, and the tax-payer has the right to contest the legality of the same on application for judgment against his property.</p> <p>3. Same—as to the amount of the penalty, before and since the amendment of 1879. By section 129 of the Revenue act, before its amendment in 1879, the county clerk, in making up the amount of the taxes for the current year on real property forfeited to the State, was required to add the amount of the back taxes, interest, penalty and printer’s fees remaining due on such real property, with one year’s interest at ten per cent on the amount of tax due, to the current