Freeport Street Railway Co. v. City of Freeport
Illinois Supreme Court
Appeal from the County Court of Stephenson County; the Hon. G-eorge Wolf, Judge, presiding. The City of Freeport, incorporated under the general latv in force July 1, 1872, on the 29th of April, 1890, passed an ordinance for the improvement of one of its streets. An amendment to that ordinance was subsequently passed, and approved May 17, 1890, but it is unimportant in this case.
Read the full summary
Appeal from the County Court of Stephenson County; the Hon. G-eorge Wolf, Judge, presiding. The City of Freeport, incorporated under the general latv in force July 1, 1872, on the 29th of April, 1890, passed an ordinance for the improvement of one of its streets. An amendment to that ordinance was subsequently passed, and approved May 17, 1890, but it is unimportant in this case. The ordinance provided that payment for the improvement should be made by a special assessment, upon certain property of the Freeport Street Railway Company, special taxation of contiguous private property, and…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Wilkin
The third ground of reversal insisted upon by counsel for appellants can be most profitably considered first, as it goes to the power of the city to levy and collect the tax in question .
The point is that the ordinance of December, 1892, and consequently that of January, 1893, are void, because they do not provide for the making of a local improvement, but simply authorize the levy of a special tax to pay for work already done, and the case is likened to City of Carlyle v. County of Clinton, 140 Ill. 512, in which it was attempted to authorize by ordinance a local improvement already made.…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Ricketts v. Village of Hyde ParkIllinois Supreme Court · 1877
- Wilbur v. City of SpringfieldIllinois Supreme Court · 1888
- City of Carlyle v. County of ClintonIllinois Supreme Court · 1892
- Village of Morgan Park v. GahanIllinois Supreme Court · 1891
- People ex rel. Carroll v. GaryIllinois Supreme Court · 1883
3Cited by12 opinions
- Cicero & Proviso Street Railway Co. v. City of ChicagoIllinois Supreme Court · 1898
- Martin v. City of OskaloosaSupreme Court of Iowa · 1905
- West Chicago Park Commissioners v. FarberIllinois Supreme Court · 1897
- Foster v. City of AltonIllinois Supreme Court · 1898
- East Hoquiam Co. v. City of HoquiamWashington Supreme Court · 1916
7 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.