Donnersberger v. Prendergast

Citations

• 128 Ill. 229
• 21 N.E. 1

Syllabus

<p>1. Township organization—changing boundaries of towns, etc.— validity of amendatory act of 1887. Section 12 of article 3 of the Township Organization law, as amended in June, 1887, so far as it relates to proceedings to disconnect part of the territory of one town and annex the same to a contiguous town, is a valid and constitutional law, but is void in so far as it attempts to change the boundaries of incorporated cities, towns and villages by limiting or extending their territorial boundaries and jurisdiction.</p> <p>2. SA3IE—effect of act of 1887, as a repeal of the prior law. The provisions of section 12 of article 3 of the Township Organization law, as amended in 1887, being a valid law so far as it relates to the same subject matter included in the act of 1874, necessarily operates as a repeal of the former law, and the law as amended takes its place.</p> <p>3. Same—former decisions. The cases of Dolese v. Pierce, 124 Ill. 140, and Village of Hyde Park v. City of Chicago, id. 156, held, that section 12 of article 3 of the Township act of 1874, as amended in 1887, in so far as it attempted to authorize a change in the boundaries of incorporated cities and villages, was in violation of section 13 of article 4 of the Constitution, and therefore void. But the question of the validity of that law in providing for a change in the boundaries of towns by taking territory from one and annexing the same to another, was not involved.</p> <p>4. Constitutional law—title of an act—constitutional-requirement. The first clause of section 13 of article 4 of the constitution, which provides “that no act hereafter passed shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title,” only requires that the subject of the act be expressed, in general terms, in the title. It is sufficient if the title is comprehensive enough to reasonably include as falling within the general subject, and as subordinate branches thereof, the several objects which the statute ass