City of Chicago v. Law

Citations

• 144 Ill. 569
• 33 N.E. 855

Syllabus

<p>1. Special assessments —power of city to raise money thereby. The power of taxation by special assessment can not be exercised by a city or any other corporate authority unless the power has been expressly and clearly conferred by the legislature. In no case can a city resort to the taxation of property by special assessment unless the power has been clearly conferred.</p> <p>3. The first section of article 5 of the act relating to cities and villages contains ninety-six distinct paragraphs specifying the different powers of the city council, but there is nothing in that article or any of its sections or clauses which confers authority to make a special assessment to raise money to enable the city to carry out any of these different powers.</p> <p>3. Same — widening navigable river. Under section 1 of article 9 of the same act, a city has the right to levy special assessments to pay for the opening, grading and paving streets and alleys, and to pay for the making of sidewalks, sewers and other like improvements; but it has not the right under that section to make a special assessment to pay for the, widening of a navigable river of the United States which is under the control of the general government. Such an improvement has none of the elements of a local improvement, such as incorporated cities and villages have been in the habit of making by special assessment, but is one in which the general public have an interest.</p> <p>4. The grant of power to cities and villages to deepen, widen, dock, cover, wall, alter or change the channel of water-courses, does not authorize them to resort to special assessment to raise money to put such power in execution.</p> <p>5. When Congress has taken no action on the subject, the city, under the grant of legislative power, will have the right to make such improvement in a navigable river within its limits in aid of navigation as in its judgment may be required; but after Congress has passed an act on the subject, and has thus