Fuller v. City of Chicago

Citations

• 89 Ill. 282

Syllabus

<p>1. Municipal indebtedness—constitutional limitation. A city, whose corporate indebtedness has reached the constitutional and statutory limit of five per cent of the assessed value of property within its limits for taxation, is prohibited from borrowing money and giving evidences of indebtedness therefor, although taxes have been levied to meet their payment, and such evidences are void. The city can not incur corporate indebtedness in anticipation of the collection of taxes levied.</p> <p>2. Same—certificates of indebtedness. A certificate that a certain person has advanced a given sum of money to a city to meet a part of the current expenses of the city for a given year for which an appropriation has been made, and that such sum will be paid to him or order on a specified day without grace, with interest., out of taxes actually levied for such fiscal year, and ordering the treasurer to pay the same when due, and charge it to the general appropriation fund, is an evidence of corporate indebtedness, its payment not being limited solely to the taxes to be collected for that fund.</p> <p>3. Same—warrant in anticipation of tax levied. A city can not use the taxes levied for one fund for the expenses of another; hence it follows that to anticipate the uncollected taxes of any of the funds, the warrant on the treasurer must be specifically against, and to be paid only out of, the taxes levied for that particular fund. It is not sufficient that the warrant directs the treasurer to charge it to a particular fund.</p> <p>4. Taxes—payment in evidences of indebtedness. A collector of city taxes has no power, even under an ordinance to that effect, to receive certificates of city indebtedness in payment of such taxes, where such certificates are illegal and void as having been issued in excess of the constitutional limitation of the city indebtedness, and he will be enjoined from so doing.</p>