Updike v. Wright

Citations

• 81 Ill. 49

Syllabus

<p>1. Drainage—levee must be auxiliary to struction of a levee along a river, as an independent work, is not authorized either by the constitution or statute enacted thereunder. The object of the drainage law is, the drainage of land for agricultural or sanitary purposes, by means of drains and ditches. It is only in connection with a system of drainage that a levee or other work may be undertaken, as auxiliary to the drainage of lands. l-</p> <p>3. The construction of a levee several miles along a river, can not be said to be a drainage of lands by drains and ditches over the lands of others; nor is such a levee, in any just sense, necessary to the drainage of lands, and is not within the meaning of the statute.</p> <p>3. Special assessments—-for drainage, not constitutional. The General Assembly, under the constitution, possesses no power to invest commissioners or juries, selected by the county court, with authority to assess and collect taxes or special assessments for the construction of a levee to prevent the overflow of lands.</p> <p>4. Taxation—local,must not be against will of those affected. The power of the legislature in respect to local taxation is subject to the limitation, that the local burden of taxation, or special assessments, can not be imposed upon a locality without the consent of the tax-payers to be affected.</p> <p>o. Same—constitutional limitation as to local. Under the present constitution, the legislature may invest cities, towns and villages with power to make local improvements by special assessments or special taxation upon contiguous property to be benefited, but is prohibited from conferring this power upon any other municipal corporations, or upon private corporations.</p> <p>6. Same—limitation as to taxes by municipal corporations.' Municipal corporations, other than cities, towns and villages, may be vested with power to assess and collect taxes for corporate purposes, but such taxes, under the constitution, must be uniform in res