President & Trustees of Lockport v. Gaylord

Citations

• 61 Ill. 276

Syllabus

<p>1.' Town charter—borrowing money. Where the charter of a town prohibited the trustees from borrowing money, unless authorized by a vote of its citizens, and they directed the street commissioner to open a street, and iu doing so he borrowed from the plaintiff, at different times, various sums of money, amounting to several hundred dollars, the trastees after-wards issued orders on the treasury for the amount, and suit being brought to recover the amount due on them: Held, that the orders were issued in violation of law, and were void, as the transaction was, in substance, borrowing money without being authorized by a vote of the citizens of the town.</p> <p>2. Curative law—constitutional power. In such a case, after the orders were issued, the general assembly passed a law amending the town charter, and by a section therein declared the orders should be valid and binding, but the title of the act had no reference to the validating of these orders: JXeid, this was a special or local law, and that there were two subjects in the law, and the constitutional requirement was not observed in expressing this matter in the title, and the provision to make the orders valid was therefore void, and they were not affected by the enactment.</p>