The St. Louis Republic., 1901-08-05
EFFECT OF ILLINOIS
APPORTIONMENT LAW.
Officials and Politicians Puzzled
Over Problems of the State
Board of Equalization.
QUESTION OF VACANCIES.
Three New Districts Have No Rep
resentatives. While Several old
Ones Have More Than One
Significance of Controversy.
REPTRLIc SPECIAL


Springfield. Ill. Aug. 4.-IliinoiS officials
and politicians have been confronted with
serious legal problem concerning the new
STATE Board of Equalization The law pro
vides that the board shall consist os ono
e.ectcr from each congressional district ir
the State and. since the new apportinnmcu-
l"w went into effect. it has been short three
members. As no election for new member
viii be held for four years. the question Of
filling the board has been raised, and the
officials are in a quandary 10 how this
snail be done.
Incident To the main question is a prob
! lem even knottier than the one of providing
the board with fun membership. BY
wiping out the cid congressional districts
I and creating three additional ones the
Legislature has left some of the co.igres-
I S-onal districts without representation on
the board and others have two and three
4 members
Ii Is a well-estaJlished maxim of ihe law
| in Illinois that no man be leeislated ont
! Of Office during the term for which he is
| elected. even though the office was created
| by the Legislature. and how this condition
| Is 10 be dealt with is mere than Governo-
| Yates or the politicians in Springfield are
| able to say.
| The question has just been brought TO
, my attention." said Governor Yates. and
| j have not had an opportunity 10 look into
| the matter. 1t is one of the bridges We will
| have TO cross when We get to it-that is
| when some official action is demanded. In
| the meantime / shall endeavor TO inform
! myself as to act intelligently II II be-
comes necessary to do anything regarding
the matter"
| Provision for Filling Vacancies.
| Attorney General Hamlin said he was not
prepared TO give an offhand opinion on the
matter, and did not wish to express one un-
! til he had looked into the question thor
oughly. On the surface. he said. the point
\ appeared TO be a difficult one and it would
be necessary TO give IL considerable study
Assistant Attorney General Monroe Is now
engaged in looking up Supreme Court cases
in this and other States which may have a
bearing on the question.
There are two sections in the Illinois stat
utes providing for the election OF the State
plates nor provide for the present emer-
sency. One Of these is section 70 OF the
elections law. and IT reads follows:
There shall he elected In each congressional
district. On Tuesday next. after the nrst Mon
| dsy in November. in the yeas Of our Lord Is7e.
and every four years thereafter. elector. 10
zstion.
This section settles the point as TO when
the election for members OF the board shall
be held. but 1t goes no further. and makes
no provision for filling vacancies. Section
lol OF the revenue law practically repeats
this section. and makes provision for filling
such vacancies as occur by death, resigua-
ton or otherwise but IL makes no mention
of instances where new districts are created.
Evidently IL was made 10 apply to vacancies
I'm which members had already been elected
Ii is as follows:
district shall. at the next general election in
SSvsner S - ts ana rSsIy lou. lars tneIeaIter
q the said Board Of Equalization. who snail
cessor is elected ard oualsned. The returns Of
the poll books and certificates OF election shall
be governed by laws regulating the election OF
members Of Congress and in case Of vacancy
occurring in said board by death. resignation or
otherwise. II shall be the duty OF the Sioyernor
to appoint some person thavins the qualifications
., an sSg,rr IN th an cs,ict IN With , sSsh S pea,
regular election for members OF said board
Two Sides Of the Contention.
The section Immediately preceding this is
the one creating the board under the Con.
sutution Of 1872 Ii provides simply that
THE State Board OF Equalization. shall al
the expiration of the term OF Office of the
members now forming said board consist
Of one member from each congressional dis
trict in the State. elected az hereinafter pro-
vided. and the Auditor Of Public Accounts"
Ii Is claimed by some that the section
creating the board must govern and that
there must be a member OF the board from
each congressional district. II this view
Is correct. then vacancies exist in the three
additional congressional districts and in
such other districts as have been deprived
of representation by the changes made by
the new appointment.
Even II II is held that there can be no
vacancies in the additional districts which
this rule cannot be applied to the other dis
tricts. several of which now have mem
with the statement that all of the districts
are new and then the point is made that the
new districts are not represented according
TO law.
Case Analogous to q Degree.
The nearest approach to a decision on the
point in question has been found in case
which was tried in the Supreme Court Of the
State last fall In this case the question
was whether Sangamon County could elect
a Probate Court Judge at the last election.
The county had just reached the point in
population where IL was entitled to a Pro-
bate Court. The law provides that judges
OF probate courts shall be elected at judi
cial elections except IN instance. where va
cancies are to be filled.
Proceeding on the theory that there was
a vacancy in this court. the two political
parties In the county mentioned. nominated
candidates for the office. but the County
Clerk refused & to put their names on thee
recognize the nominations was brought and
the case was carried into the Supreme
Court. II held that the clerk was right,
and that no vacancy existed in the court
The fact that the census entitled the county
to Probate Court. Hid not create a vacancy
i'm the office, according TO the Supreme
Court, and it held that the county would
have to wait for the next judicial election
to elect a Probate Judge.
This appears to be case analogous to
that OF the State Board OF Equalization and,
in some respects. IL is. However the court
did not have TO contend with any such
creating the State Board and which, ap-
parently makes II necessary that each
congressional district in the State he rep
resented. There also are other differences
in the two cases which make ii unsafe to
rely upon the decision In the Sangamon
County decision.
Present Members of the BOa rd.
Following are the members Of the Board
of EQUALIZATION. elected at the last general
election the districts given being those IN
existence at the time:
First District-GeorFe F. McKnight. No 77Is
Hawthorne avenue. Chicago.
Second Distfict-C'harles - Schumacher. No.
css Blue Island avenue. Chicago
Third District-Peter J. Schaefer. No. So
Thirty first street. Chicago
Fourth Distributions F. Sculey. No. 156
Nashburn avenue. Chicago
Fifth District-William Kells. No. So Grand
avenue. Chicago
sixth pistrictn!aooe H. Hopkins. No. III
Seventh District-Jamer J. McConb. No. 40
North Hoyne avenue. Chicago
Eighth Dstrict-Thsodore s. Rogers. Downer's
Grove
Ninth District-t-hariee A. Works. Rockford.
Tenth Disfrict-Moses Dillon. Sterling
Eleventh District-Samuei NJ Barnes Fair
Twelfth District-Frank p Martin watseka-
Thirteenth Dstrict-Solon Philbrick. Cham
palgn.
Fifteenth District-John s Cr1rttensen Quincy
Sixteenth Dstrict-Louis u. Hirsheimer. PITTS
field.
Seventeenth District-Gaines Green Petersburg
Eighteenth District-John w Yan;is shelby
willie
Nineteenth Dstrict-Rchari Csdle. Charleston.
DiStrict-Allen Mount