Jacksonville Railway Co. v. City of Jacksonville

Citations

• 114 Ill. 562
• 2 N.E. 478

Syllabus

<p>1. Special assessments for improvement of street—necessity for an ordinance—and requisites thereof. A valid ordinance is essential to proceedings by special assessment for the improvement of a street by a city. If the ordinance is invalid, a judgment confirming an assessment on property is not authorized.</p> <p>2. An ordinance for the improvement of a public street, the cost of which is to be assessed, in whole or in part, upon abutting property, must specify the nature, character, locality and description of the proposed improvement.</p> <p>3. An ordinance for paving a street partly by special assessment and the residue by general taxation, required the pavement to be what is known as the “Bloomington brick pavement,” and the foundation thereof to be laid of cinders, sand, gravel, or other materials equally suitable, at least six inches deep, etc. The estimate of its cost, approved by the city council, showed that cinders were to be used. It was held, the ordinance was not obnoxious to the objection of uncertainty as to the materials to be used for the brick to rest upon. In such case the words, “or other materials,” etc., may be treated as surplusage.</p> <p>4. An ordinance for the paving of a street is not void for uncertainty, because it requires the brick pavement to be laid upon a foundation of sand, gravel or cinders.</p> <p>5. Nor is such an ordinance rendered invalid by a provision requiring all the work done and materials used to be subject to the approval of the city engineer, and in accordan.ee with the plans and specifications to be furnished by the city council. Such provision does not give him the power to determine the kind of materials to be used, but only the right to see that the materials required are used, and the work done as directed by the ordinance.</p> <p>6. Municipal indebtedness—constitutional limitation—as affecting power to improve streets, etc. The fact that a city has already exhausted its constitutional power to incur a debt, can