Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Co v. McCleave

Citations

• 108 Ill. 368
• 1884 Ill. LEXIS 1486

Syllabus

<p>1. Taxation—town taxes are in no sense county taxes. Town taxes levied for township purp'oses are not county taxes, within the meaning of section 8, article 9, of the constitution, prohibiting comity authorities from assessing taxes the aggregate of which shall exceed seventy-five cents on the one hundred dollars of valuation, except for the payment of indebtedness existing at the adoption of that instrument, etc. Such towns are municipal corporations, and taxes levied by them are for corporate purposes.</p> <p>2. Same—town taxes not levied by county board. Where the proper authorities of towns, townships, districts, and incorporated cities and villages, certify, in proper time, to tlie county clerk the several amounts required by tbem to be raised by taxation, it is made the duty of the county clerk to ascertain the rate per cent, and extend the same upon the tax books. No action of the county board is necessary to authorize such levy, and any order of such board neither adds to nor takes from the duty of the clerk to extend such taxes.</p> <p>3. Same—of municipal corporations. Organized townships under the Township Organization law have power, under the constitution and the law, to levy and collect taxes for various corporate purposes. The legislature is, by section 9, article 9, of the constitution, authorized to confer upon any and_ all municipal corporations authority to levy and collect taxes for all corporate purposes; and even if this section of the constitution had not been adopted, the legislature would have ample power to authorize the levy and collection of such taxes. These constitutional provisions are only limitations on the legislative power.</p>