Ryan v. People

Citations

• 117 Ill. 486
• 6 N.E. 37

Syllabus

<p>1. Town colijEOTob— excess of the two per cent commissions over $1500—into what treasury to be paid—town or district. Section 36, chapter 53, of the Revised Statutes of 1874, declares: “Each town or district collector shall be allowed a commission of two per cent on all moneys collected by him, to be paid out of the respective funds collected: Provided, * * * that all excess of commission and fees over $1500 shall be paid into the town or district treasury. ”</p> <p>2. This is construed to mean, that in the case of a town collector, which • appertains alone to counties under township organization, such excess shall in all cases be paid into the town treasury, and not elsewhere.</p> <p>3. The “ district treasury” mentioned in the act, means the county treasury in counties not under township organization, each county in the State within that class being, for the purpose of collecting taxes, a “collection district,” and the sheriff of the county is, by virtue of his office, “district” collector. And so the distinction is to be taken between the “town collector” and the “district collector,” and correspondingly as to the “town treasury” and the “district” or county treasury, in respect to which shall be entitled to receive the surplus of the two per cent commissions over and above the $1500 allowed to the collector as his actual compensation.</p> <p>4. In this case the town collector of the town of West Chicago, which embraces a portion of the city of Chicago, had collected for a given year, town taxes, State and county taxes, and, with others, city taxes. The excess over $1500 of commissions on all the taxes so collected was paid by the collector into the town treasury, except that arising from the city taxes, which he declined to pay, and to recover which the town brought suit upon his official bond. A recovery was had, and was sustained by this court.</p> <p>5. Same—constitutionality of the act in so disposing of the commissions on the city taxes. The construction