City of Bloomington v. Pollock

Citations

• 141 Ill. 346
• 31 N.E. 146

Syllabus

<p>1. Municipal corporations—power to establish the grade of streets, a continuing power. The powers given to cities and villages to alter, grade, pave or otherwise improve their streets are continuing powers, and are not exhausted by their first exercise, and ordinances adopted under such powers fixing the grades of streets are not in the nature of compacts or contracts with owners of abutting lots.</p> <p>2. Same—liability for damage caused by changing the grade of a street. In respect to the legal liability of a municipal corporation for damage done in grading its streets, it is wholly immaterial, from a legal standpoint, whether such grading is done under an ordinance establishing a grade in the first instance, or under an ordinance changing the grade theretofore established. So a city, with or without a prior ordinance, is free to establish, by ordinance, any grade it sees fit, subject only to the qualification that such grade is not so wholly unreasonable as to render the ordinance void,</p> <p>3. Since the adoption of the constitution of 1870, a city, in making a public improvement, such as changing the grade of a street, is liable for the damages thereby caused to private property, which may be recovered by an action at law at the suit of the owner of such property.</p> <p>4. Same—immunity prior to adoption of the constitution, not continued by section 1 of the schedule. If an ordinance of a city for the grading of a street, passed before the adoption of the constitution of 1870, carries with it immunity from the burden of compensation to private property that may be damaged for public use, it will not be continued in force by section 1 of the schedule of the constitution, which provides that all laws in force at its adoption, as such a law, (if the ordinance be one,) is inconsistent with section 13, article 2, of the constitution.</p> <p>5. Same—liability determined bylaw in force when the injury is in fact done. An ordinance of a city for the grading of a