Sherlock v. Village of Winnetka

Citations

• 68 Ill. 530

Syllabus

<p>1* Taxation—power of milage council to reduce assessment. The constitution of 1848 provides that taxes shall be levied on a valuation of property, to be ascertained by some person or persons, to be elected or appointed in such manner as the General Assembly shall direct, and not otherwise. Under this, the assessor of a village has the sole power to ascertain and fix the value of the property for taxation, and where no power of review is conferred upon the village council, they will have no power to alter, change or correct the assessment, as made by the assessor.</p> <p>2. Sahib—uniformity. To secure the uniformity in taxation required by the constitution, two things are essential: First, the assessment must be just and equal, in proportion to the value of the property liable to assessment, and, second, when thus assessed, the rate shall be uniform to every person and on every species of property returned by the assessor. The constitution requires that the uniform value shall be ascertained by one officer, and the uniform rate imposed by a different- set of officers, or a different person.</p> <p>3. The abatement of the assessment of property, liable to taxation, by a village council, where no power of review is conferred, destrot-s the equality and uniformity of the assessment, and will, no doubt, authorize the tax-payers injured thereby to enforce their rights by legal remedy against the council; but however wrong and unauthorized, it can not afford grounds for holding the whole assessment invalid.</p> <p>4. Municipal bonds—place of payment. Municipal authorities, in the absence of express statutory authority, have no right to make their bonds, issued by them, payable at any other place than their treasury; but if they are made payable at some other place, this will not invalidate the bonds—the provision to pay at some other place being void.</p> <p>5. Municipal corporation—charter construed as to erecting school buildings. Charter authority to a village counci