County of Menard v. Kincaid

Citations

• 71 Ill. 587

Syllabus

<p>1. Bjlpeal of statutes—eject of, on pending proceedings. The effect of a repealing statute is to obliterate the statute repealed as completely as if it had never been enacted, except for the purpose of those actions or suits which -were commenced, prosecuted and concluded whilst it was an existing law.</p> <p>• 3. Proceedings were instituted to lay out a road in a county not under township organization, under the “Act in regard to roads and bridges,” approved April 10, 1873, and on the 19th of March, 1873, damages were assessed under the act, before a justice of the peace, from which assessment the owner of the land appealed to the circuit court. On the 9tli of April, 1873, the commissioners of highways laid out the road, and on the 11th of the same month filed their order, declaring the road a public highway, with the report of the surveyor, in the office of the county clerk. On the 18th of the same month, and before the time allowed by the act for taking an appeal from this order laying out the road expired, the act was repealed, without any saving clause. At the July term, 1873, of the circuit court, on motion of the commissioners of highways, the appeal from the assessment was dismissed, on the ground that the law under which the proceedings were instituted had been repealed: Held, that at the time of the repeal, neither the proceeding as to the assessment of damages nor laying out the road could be fairly considered as concluded, and that the effect of the repeal was to annul all that had been done toward laying out the road.</p>