City of Chicago v. Brownell

Citations

• 146 Ill. 64
• 34 N.E. 595

Syllabus

<p>1. Municipal cobpobations—prohibiting book-making and poolselhng. Under the forty-fifth clause of section 1, article 5, of the act concerning cities and villages, a city council has the power, within the corporate limits, to forbid and punish, by ordinance, the acts mentioned in the act of May 31, 1887, entitled “An act to prohibit bookmaking and pool-selling.”</p> <p>2. Gaming—validity of ordinance. An ordinance of a city to prohibit book-making and pool-selling within the corporate limits, and which imposes a fine on any person violating its provisions, will not be rendered invalid from the fact that its provisions are not to apply to certain localities in the city, and such fact does not confer upon any person the right to do the forbidden acts in such localities.</p> <p>3. An ordinance which provides for the punishment of book-making and pool-selling within the city generally, but exempts certain places under the control of incorporated associations, such as inclosures for fairs or race tracks at particular times, from its operation, in no sense authorizes or sanctions book-making or pool-selling in the excepted places at the times mentioned. It simply makes no provision .for the punishment of those who may do the acts in these inclosures at such times.</p> <p>4. Same—ordinance discriminating between persons. An ordinance is not void for unequal or partial discrimination in its operation which exempts persons at certain times, in certain places, from punishment for gaming, etc., when the party complaining is not thereby deprived of any right enjoyed by others. No person has a right to engage in the business of book-making or pool-selling, which the State or municipal corporation is bound to protect, and hence an ordinance imposing a penalty for engaging therein in certain places can not be said to discriminate against him.</p>