Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-08-10
EQUALIZATION.
Ths State Board Meets at Springfie and
ORGANIZES

Tho State Board Meets at Spring fieId and
Organizes.
The state board of equalization
met Tuesday, Springfield, in annual
session. The board is composed of
p members, including Auditor Gore.
who is member by virtue of his
office. Eleven of the members are
republicans, including NJ NJ. Stur-
geon OF this city, the representative
for the Eleventh congressional dis
trict. Auditor Gore was elected
, chairman; W. H. Eubanks, of SPRING
field, secretary, and Elijah Jones, of
Springfield, doorkeeper. Mr.. Eu-
banks was chief clerk under Auditor
Pavey. and Mr.. Jones was for several
years janitor of the state board Of
health Office. The standing COM
mittees as announced by Chairman
Gore places Mr.. Sturgeon on the COM
mittee on town and city lots.
The auditor announced that he had
, received information from Chicago
that the Cook county returns would
not be ready before the 20th or 25th
of the month. Pending their arrival
the board adjourned to meet Aug. %,
and Mr.. Sturgeon reached home
last evening.
The Governor VIII Not Act.
Gov. Altgeld will make no appoint
ments to make up the requisite num-
Der of one from each congressional
! district under the new apportion-
ment. Attorney General Moloney
gave an opinion that there were two
vacancies existing in the board, but
he is unable to determine where
they are. The members of the board
of equalization were elected at the
general election last fall, and the APP
portionment bill was passed last
spring. There has been no election
since then, and the governor will
make no appointments, as the law
provides that the board shall be COM
posed OF members, one to be elected
| from each congressional district. 1t
is evident from this that the new APP
portionment cannot operate until the
next election. Judge Lyman Trum-
bull, of Chicago, gave a lengthy
opinion to the governor at the lat
ter's request, and Gov. Altgeld
speaking to a State Register reporter,
| said:
The opinion of Judge Trumbull
agrees with that of the attorney gen
eral of the state, that there is no va
cancy as to 30 of the members of the
board; that is, that all of the mem
bers who were elected at the last
| general election are still members of
the board without regard to the
question as to whether either the
! boundaries or the number of theirdis-
tricts have been changed, There is
a difference of opinion as to whether
two members could be added for the
two congressional districts that are
in existence now, and were not in
eXistance at the last election. Judge
Trumbull holds that it cannot be
done, while the attorney general is
of the opinion that there is a vacan-
| cy, but he does not state in the opin-
ion which he rendered where this va
cancy is, and in consultation with
him he says that some serious ques-
lions might again rise in determin-
ing where to locate two more mem
bers if we were to appoint them.
lnasmuch as there is no doubt about
the legality OF the board as it is now
constituted, and as we might get
into serious complications if we at
tempt to add any members to the
board at present, have decided not
to do So
Judge Trumbull in his opinion
gives first the law governing the
election of the members of the board
of equalization, and says section 12J
of chapter 46. entitled elections, de-
clares among other causes, that an
elective Office shall become vacant
on the incum bent's s'ceasing to be
an inhabitant of the state; or, if the
office is local, his ceasing to be an
inhabitant of the district, county,
tcwn or precinct for which he is
elected