LANARK CHARTER
NOTE
The Town of Lanark was granted a charter by the State Legislature on February 28, 1867. This charter was subsequently amended by a second act of the State Legislature on March 26, 1869. The Town of Lanark then operated under said charters until 1876 when an election took place to form the City of Lanark.
AN ACT
TO INCORPORATE THE TOWN OF LANARK
Sec 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, that the inhabitants of the Town of Lanark, in the county of Carroll, and state of Illinois, are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of "The President and Trustees of the Town of Lanark"; and, by that name and style, shall have perpetual succession, and may have the use of a common seal, which they may change or alter at pleasure, and in whom the government of the corporation shall be vested, and by whom its affairs shall be managed.
Sec. 2. The inhabitants of said town, by the name and style aforesaid, may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in all courts of law and in all actions whatever; and purchase, receive and hold property, real and personal, within or beyond the limits of said town, for burial grounds and for other public purposes, for the use of the inhabitants of said town, and may sell, lease and dispose of property, real and personal for the benefit of said town, and improve and protect such property, and do all things in relation thereto as natural persons.
Sec. 3. That the boundaries of said corporation shall include the lands described by and within the following boundaries, being in the county of Carroll, and state of Illinois, to wit: The several additions, as herein described, made to the original plat of said town by John Nycum and Richard Irvin and surveyed by Elijah Funk, county surveyor, as follows: Frank Smith's addition, Richard Irvin's addition, and David B. Longs addition to the town of Lanark, including the street separating Richard Irvin's addition, above named, from David B. Longs addition, above named; also, the following described tract of land, be and is hereby declared to be henceforth included within said incorporation to wit: Beginning at the south-east corner of David B. Longs addition to the town of Lanark; thence due south seventeen and one third (171/3) rods; thence due west ninety (90) rods, to a point on the public road running south from Broad street, in said town; thence due north seventeen and one third (171/3) rods to the south-west corner of Richard Irvin's addition to the said town; thence due east ninety (90) rods, to the place of beginning; and further, that the following tract of land be and is hereby declared to be a part of and included within the corporation of said town, to wit: Beginning at the north-east corner of David B. Longs addition to the town of Lanark; thence due north to the tract of the Western Union Railroad Company; thence west to the north-west corner of block number one, of Richard Irvin's addition to the said town; thence due south to the south-east corner of block number one, of Richard Irvin's addition aforesaid; thence east thirty-three feet; thence south, again, to the north-west corner of David B. Long's addition, aforesaid; thence due east to place of beginning--the said boundaries including a part of the north- west and a part of the north-east and a part of the south-east and a part of the south-west quarters of section number five (5), of township number twenty-four (24), range six (6) east of the fourth (4) principal meridian.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, that the trustees of said corporation of Lanark have power to add to the said corporation from time to time, such portions of territory which may by them be considered to be to the interest of said corporation, not to exceed one mile square, as is prescribed at present by the statutes of the state of Illinois. The present president and trustees of said town, as at present incorporated under the general act of incorporation, are hereby appointed trustees of said town, and shall hold their office until the first Tuesday in September next and until their successors are elected and qualified; and on the first Tuesday in September of every year thereafter, an election shall be held for five (5) trustees of said town, who shall hold their office for
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one year and until their successors are elected and qualified; and ten days' public notice of the time and place of holding any election for trustees shall be given by their clerk, by advertising in any weekly paper published in said town or by posting up notices in three of the most public places in said town. No person shall be elected a trustee of said town who shall not be qualified to vote for state and county officers and who shall not be and have been for six (6) months previous to such election a resident within the corporate limits of said town; nor shall any person, unless he is entitled to vote for state and county officers and be and have been an actual resident of said town for sixty (60) days next preceding an election, be entitled to vote for trustees or other town officers within the corporate limits thereof.
Sec. 5. There shall elected, at the first regular election, corporation officers, and every four years thereafter, a corporation justice of the peace, who shall hold his office in said corporation, and shall have all power and jurisdiction of other justices of the peace, who shall give bond, be commissioned and qualified in the same manner as other justices. At the election of which said justice is to be chosen, the officers of election, as judges and clerks, shall make out and forward to the county clerk of Carroll county returns of the same, exactly as in the election of the other justices of the peace. Said justices shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all suits growing out of a violation of any of the ordinances of the corporation, except in case of his absence or inability to serve, when the next nearest justice in the county shall have power to act.
Sec. 6. Appeals and changes of venue may be taken and writs of certiorari allowed from the decisions of the justices of the peace in matters growing out of a violation of any ordinance of the corporation the same as in other cases before justices of the peace. Any failure to hold the first election under this act, at the specified time, shall not work a forfeiture thereof, but the said election may be held at any day thereafter, by giving proper notice within thirty days.
Sec. 7. That the trustees shall elect one of their number president, and shall be judges of the election, qualifications and returns of their own members, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as they may provide, and punish their members for disorderly conduct, and, by a vote of three-fifths of the whole number elected, expel a member, and make such other rules and regulations for their government as to them may seem proper and expedient, and shall have power to fill any vacancy in the board of trustees, occasioned by death, resignation, removal, or continued absence from town for three months or otherwise.
Sec. 8. The board of trustees of said town shall have power to make regulations to secure the general health of the inhabitants; to declare what shall be a nuisance, and prevent and remove the same; to provide the town with water; to dig wells, erect hydrants and pumps in the streets for the convenience of the public; to open, alter, extend, establish, grade, plank, pave, and in any other way or manner improve and keep in repair all streets, avenues, lanes and alleys, sidewalks, crosswalks, drains and sewers; to establish, erect and keep in repair bridges; to provide for the erection of all needful buildings for the use of the town; to provide for inclosing, improving and regulating all public places within or belonging to the corporation, planting trees in the streets and public squares, for ornament or shade, and the protection of the same, to restrain and prohibit horse-racing, shooting, indecent exposure of horses or persons, houses of ill-fame, gaming houses and other disorderly houses, and intoxication, and to suppress the same; to provide for taxing, licensing and regulating theatrical or other shows or amusements, for the admission to which money or anything is charged; to regulate and license peddlers and auctioneers; the exclusive power to regulate, prohibit or license the selling or spirituous, vinous or malt liquors, of any kind, as a beverage, within the limits of the corporation.
Sec. 9. To restrain and prohibit the running at large of any horses, mules, cattle, sheep, swine, goats or dogs, within said corporate limits; to erect market houses; to establish markets and market places; and provide for the use, government and regulations thereof; to fix the rates to be
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charged for carriage of persons and property within the limits of the incorporation, by carriages, wagons, sleighs or drays; to provide for the preservation from and extinguishment of fires; to establish and regulate the fire department; to regulate the storage of gunpowder and other combustible material to regulate the sale of game; to regulate the speed at which railroad locomotives and cars shall be driven or horses rode through or within the limits of said incorporation; to establish and regulate the police of the town; to regulate the election of the officers of the incorporation, and to provide for their compensation; to provide for the inspection and weighing of hay and coal, the measurement of charcoal, firewood and other fuel, to be sold or used within the incorporation; to make all such ordinances, from time to time, and alter, amend or repeal the same, as shall be necessary to carry into effect and execution the powers specified in this act, so that the same be not inconsistent herewith nor with the constitution of this state or of the United States; to impose fines, forfeitures and penalties upon any officer of the incorporation, and to provide for the recovery and appropriation of any such fine, penalty or forfeiture; to provide for the infliction of fines or penalties upon any officer of the incorporation neglecting or refusing to perform any duty or act required of such officers in this act to be done; to cause, from time to time, a census of the inhabitants of said town to be taken; to appoint an attorney for the said incorporation, and fix the amount of his fees and compensation.
Sec. 10. To establish and maintain a public pound and appoint a poundmaster and prescribe his duties; to restrain and prohibit all descriptions of gambling and fraudulent devices, and to suppress or prohibit or license and control billiard tables, ball alleys and other like establishments.
Sec. 11. The president and trustees shall have power to appoint a town or corporation constable for said town, whose duty it shall be, when so appointed and sworn into office, to execute anywhere in Carroll county any writ, process or precept which may be issued against any person or persons for the violation of any ordinance of said corporation, and to arrest on view or otherwise, any person or persons who may violate the same and to take them before any justice of the peace of said town, and to collect any fine, forfeiture or penalty which may be assessed or recovered, for the use of said town; also, to appoint a clerk, treasurer, street commissioner, board of health, and all other officers that may be necessary, and to prescribe their duties, and shall require bonds, from the several officers for the faithful discharge of their duties.
Sec. 12. The trustees, in the absence of the corporation constable, may appoint a special constable or constables, whose duties for the time being shall be the same as herein specified for corporation constable. The street commissioner, under the direction of the trustees, shall have the immediate supervision of the streets and the superintendence of street labor. The president and trustees shall have power to make all necessary ordinances, -- to compel the removal of all obstructions in any streets, alleys, sidewalks or public places within the corporate limits. The board of trustees, together with the president, shall receive a compensation of one dollar each for each regular meeting which they attend. The treasurer, clerk, and street commissioner shall receive for their services, respectively, such compensation as the trustees may direct or allow.
Sec. 13. The president and trustees shall require their clerk, and it shall be his duty, to make and keep a full and faithful record of all their proceedings, by-laws and ordinances, and of the time, place and manner of the publications of such ordinances and by-laws, in a book to be provided for that purpose, and such book, purporting to be a record of the corporation of the town of Lanark, shall be received in all courts, without further proof, as evidence of all matters therein contained. And all ordinances, before taking effect, shall be published at least ten days in a newspaper published in said town or by posting up copies of the same in three public places in said town. The president and trustees shall hold twelve regular monthly meetings in each year, and, at the request of the president or a majority of the trustees, may call special meetings whenever by them deemed necessary, and may publish the proceedings of each meeting in a newspaper printed in said town. They shall, also, at the close of each fiscal year, publish a full statement of receipts and disbursements, stating separately each sum paid out, to whom paid and for what purposes, also for receipts into the treasury, except the general tax; they shall state the items separately, from whom received, for what purpose, and the amount.
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Sec. 14. Any fine, penalty or forfeiture incurred under this act or any by-laws or ordinance made in pursuance of this act, may be recovered, together with costs, before any justice of the peace, in the corporate name, not exceeding seventy-five dollars; and the first process shall be a summons, unless oath or affirmation be made for a warrant by some credible person. It shall be lawful to declare, generally, for debt, for fines, for such fines, penalties or forfeitures, stating the clause of this act or the ordinance or by-laws under which the same are claimed, and to give the special matter in evidence under the declaration; and the justice shall proceed to hear and determine the case as in other cases. Upon the rendition of judgment for any such fines, penalties or forfeitures, the justice shall issue his execution for the same and costs of suits, which may be levied upon any personal property of the defendant or defendants, not exempt from execution; and if no property be found, the constable shall, by virtue of said process, arrest such person or persons and commit him or them to the jail of said county to remain forty-eight hours; and if the judgment and costs exceed five dollars then to remain in close custody in said jail twenty-four hours for every two dollars over and above the said five dollars; and so in proportion to the amount of the judgment and costs, unless otherwise discharged by law: Provided, that whenever the said town shall have finished a suitable prison for securing offenders the town prison may be substituted for the county jail: Provided, further, an appeal may be granted within five days after the rendition of judgment with the same force and effect, rights and privileges to all parties, as in other cases.
Sec. 15. The justice of the peace and constable who may render service under this act shall be entitled to the same fees and collect them in the same manner as is or hereinafter may be provided by law in other cases.
Sec. 16. The president and trustees shall not be required, in suits instituted under this act or ordinances passed by virtue thereof, to file any security for costs, except in cases of appeal by them taken.
Sec. 17. All fines, forfeitures and penalties received or collected for the breach of any ordinance (or) of this act, shall be paid into the treasury of said corporation by the officer or person receiving or collecting the same.
Sec. 18. The board of trustees may grant license to sell spirituous or other liquors or withhold the same, in their discretion, upon the following conditions:
First. The applicant shall pay into the treasury of the corporation, for the privilege granted, a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars nor less than twenty-five, in the discretion of the board of trustees.
Second. The applicant shall execute a bond, in the penal sum of one thousand dollars, with one or more securities, to be approved by said board, conditioned that the applicant will in all respects keep an orderly house and will not permit unlawful gaming or any uncivil conduct.
Sec. 19. But no license for any purpose shall be granted to extend beyond the period when the successors to the board granting the same shall be elected and qualified.
Sec. 20. Every person or corporation, not having a license to do so from said board of trustees, who shall sell, barter or dispose of any spirituous, vinous, mixed or malt liquors in said town, except those persons licensed as druggists with their instructions as prescribed by ordinance, shall be subject to a fine of not exceeding seventy five (75) dollars or an imprisonment not exceeding twenty days for each offense, at the discretion of the justice of the peace before whom the case may be heard.
Sec. 21. No fine or forfeiture for a violation of any ordinance or by-law of said incorporation, made under the provisions of this act, shall in any one case exceed seventy-five dollars.
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Sec. 22. The board of trustees of the said town of Lanark shall have power, annually, to levy a tax upon all the taxable property in said town, for town purposes, of an amount not exceeding one per cent, which shall be returned to the board of supervisors of said county of Carroll and by them levied and entered upon the collector's book of the township of Rock Creek, (within the limits whereof said town of Lanark is situated) to be by him collected and paid to the treasurer of said town of Lanark, said tax to be levied upon the assessment roll returned by the assessor of said township of Rock Creek for the year in which the said tax is levied.
Sec. 23. That for the purpose of altering, opening, extending, establishing, grading, planking, paving and in any other way or manner improving and keeping in repair streets, avenues, lanes and alleys, sidewalks, crosswalks, bridges, drains and sewers, the said board of trustees are authorized to require every able-bodied male resident within the corporate limits, who is not under twenty-one years of age and not over fifty-five, to labor on said streets or public roads, not less than one nor more than two days in each and every year, as poll tax; and any person failing to perform said labor, either by himself or an able substitute, when duly notified by the street commissioner, shall forfeit and pay the sum of two dollars per day for each day so neglected or refused, or they may commute for the same by paying to the trustees, through the street commissioner, the sum of one dollar and fifty cents for each day assessed. The said trustees may also assess a road tax upon all taxable property within the corporation limits, in the same manner and to the same extent as is now done by the commissioners of highways; and for the collection of road taxes, commutation money and penalties, the trustees are authorized to adopt the same measures as are provided by law for the commissioners of highways, so far as the same may be applicable to this act, and to make such ordinances as shall be necessary for the collection of the aforesaid tax, such ordinances being consistent with this act and the laws and the constitution of this state; they may, also, on petition, grant the right of way on or over any of the public streets or ground of the incorporation to any railroad company asking to locate or build a road through the corporate limits, and make all needful arrangements with such companies for the location of depots or stations. Said trustees may also order the construction of sidewalks upon any streets or part of street within the limits of the corporation.
Sec. 24. All actions for the breach of any ordinance of said town or of the provisions of the charter thereof shall be in the name of the president and trustees of the town of Lanark. The process shall be by complaint of any person or persons before any justice of the peace hereinbefore named, which justice shall thereupon issue his warrant to bring the offender or offenders before him: Provided, that in case such violation shall be made under the sight of the town or corporation constable, that the offender or offenders may be arrested by him, on view, without complaint of any person or persons, as above prescribed; and after hearing the evidence, if it shall appear that the person or persons arrested are guilty of the offense charged, the said justice shall fine or impose imprisonment upon such offender, in his discretion, subject to the provisions of this act.
Sec. 25. All ordinances, by-laws, and resolutions passed by the president and trustees of the town of Lanark, as incorporated under the general laws and which are now in force and not inconsistent herewith, shall remain in force until the same shall be repealed by the president and trustees of the corporation created by this act.
Sec. 26. All actions, rights, fines, penalties and forfeitures, in suit or otherwise, which have accrued or have been commenced by the president and trustees of said town, incorporated under the general law, shall be vested in and preserved to the corporation hereby created.
Sec. 27. All property, real or personal, or any estate or interest therein, held or belonging to the president and trustees of the said town of Lanark, as incorporated under the general law, for the use of the inhabitants thereof, shall be and the same are hereby declared to be vested in the corporation hereby created.
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Sec. 28. This charter shall not invalidate any act done by the president and trustees of the town of Lanark, as at present incorporated; and all taxes assessed in favor of said corporation and which have not yet been paid into the treasury thereof shall, when collected, be paid into the treasury of the corporation hereby created.
Sec. 29. The board of trustees may make all necessary ordinances, not inconsistent with this act and the constitution of this state, to carry into operation all the provisions of this act.
Sec. 30. And be it further enacted, that "An act to incorporate the town of Lanark," land for which this act is a substitute) approved February 28, 1867, be and the same is hereby repealed.
Sec. 31. This act is hereby declared to be a public act, and may be read in evidence in all courts of law or equity within the state, without proof.
Sec. 32. This act to take effect and be in force from and after the date of its passage.
APPROVED March 26, 1869.
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The following is a statement of the result of the canvass of votes by ballot at the Election in the Town of Lanark in the County of Carroll State of Illinois on Tuesday May 2d A.D. 1876 as returned by the Judges of Election to the President and Trustees of said Town and canvassed by said President and Trustees as follows, to-wit:
For City organization under general law Received Ninety Eight Votes | 98 | |
Against City organization under general law Received Five Votes | 5 | |
For Minority representation in City council Received Seven Votes | 7 | |
Against Minority representation in City council Received Ninety Five Votes | 95 | |
Carroll County | ) | |
)SS. | ||
City of Lanark | ) | |
I Joseph Wiltsey City clerk of said city of Lanark do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct transcript from the original book of records of said city wherein is contained the entry or record of all such matters as relate to the acts and doings of the President and Trustees of said City.
In witness whereof have hereunto set my hand and seal this sixth day of July A.D. 1876.
Joseph Wiltsey City Clerk (Seal)
(Endorsements)
FILED Jul. 7, 1876,
Geo. H. Harlow Sec'y of State.