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Sec[Section] 1 Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the General assembly, That the following is hereby declared to be the boundaries of the Town of Mount Vernon, in Jefferson County, that is to say, the whole of the plat of the original survey of said Town, as now recorded in the Recorder’s Office of said County together with the addition made to said Town by James Gray, commencing at the north west corner of said Town, running thence west to William Casey’s line, thence south with said line to a point in a direct line with the south boundary
of said original survey, thence to the south west corner of said Town, and the inhabitants of said Town, and all within said boundaries, shall be, and are hereby constituted a body politic
and corporate, by the name and style of “The Trustees of the Town of Mount Vernon” and by that name, they, and their successors, shall he known in law, have perpetual
succession, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in courts
of law and equity, and in all matters and actions whatsoever, may grant, purchase,
and receive, and hold property, real and personal, within said Town, and no other (except burial ground;) and may lease, sell, and dispose of the same
for the benefit of the Town, may have a common seal, and break and alter the same at pleasure
Sec 2. The corporate powers of said and duties of said Town, shall be vested in five trustees to be chosen and appointed as hereinafter directed,
who shall form a board for the transaction of business
Sec 3 The members composing the board of Trustees, shall be elected by the persons residing
within said Town and incorporated limits (qualified to vote for representatives
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to the legislature,) to serve one year; they shall be [at least?] twenty one years of age, citizens of the United States, and inhabitants of said incorporated
limits, the trustees shall be elected on the first Saturday in may next and on the
first Saturday of may annually thereafter in the manner now prescribed by law for
holding elections for representatives to the legislature of this state, any [five?] having received the greatest number of votes shall be declared duly elected for one
year and until their successors shall be elected and qualified
Sec 4 The Board of trustees shall appoint their president and all other officers of their
board, and shall be Judges of the qualifications, elections, and returns of their
own members; a majority shall constitute a board to do business, but a smaller number
may adjourn from day to day may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner,
and under such penalties as the board may provide; they may determine the rules of
proceeding, punish their members for disorderly conduct, and by the concurrence of
two-thirds 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
Sec 5 That the Trustees shall have power, by [ordinance?] to levy and collect taxes upon all real estate within the Town and limits of the corporation, not exceeding the one half of one per centum upon the assessed value thereof, except as hereinafter excepted; to make regulations
to secure the general health of the inhabitants; to prevent and remove nuisances;
to provide for [licensing,?] taxing and regulating merchants, grocery keepers; to regulate auctions, taverns,
groceries and pedlars, [shows?] and amusements; to restrain and prohibit gambling [houses,?] bawdy houses, and other disorderly houses; to open and
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keep in repair streets, avenues, lanes, alleys[,] drains[,] and sewers, and to keep the same clean; to regulate the police of the town; to regulate the elections of the Town officers, and fix their compensation, and
from time to time to pass such ordinances as to carry into effect the objects of this
act and the powers herein granted, as the good of the inhabitants may require, and
to impose and appropriate fines and forfeitures for the breach of any ordinance, and
provide for the collection thereof; and that in all cases arising under this act,
or growing out of the by-laws and ordinances made in [pursuance?] of this act of incorporation, any Justice of the Peace within said corporation, shall have Jurisdiction to hear and determine the same, and an appeal may be taken,
and writs of certiorari allowed from any such decision, in the same manner as now is or hereafter may be
provided by law, for taking appeals from Judgments of Justices of the peace.
Sec 6 That upon the application of the owner of two thirds of the front of the lots on
any street or parts of a street, it shall be lawful for the board of Trustees to levy
and collect a special tax on the owners of the lots on said street or parts of a street,
according to their respective fronts, for the purpose of grading and paving the side
walks of said street
Sec. 7. The board of trustees shall have power to regulate, improve, grade, and pave the
streets and by ordinance, to regulate, and cause to be cleared of all the timber[,] undergrowth[,] and rubbish on such parts of the town as have been laid off into town lots, at the expense of the owners of said lots,
and may cause the same to be sold to defray the expense.
Sec. 8. All ordinances shall, within one month after they are passed be posted up in three
of the most
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public places in said town for two weeks at least before taking effect.
Sec 9. That when any real estate in said town of Mount vernon, shall have been sold by authority of the Corporation thereof, the same shall be
subject to redemption in the manner as is provided by the authority of [this?]state
Sec. 10 That every member of the board of trustees, and every officer of said corporation, shall before entering on the duties of his office, take an oath or affirmation before
some Justice of the Peace to support the Constitution of the united states and of
this state, and faithfully to demean themselves in office
Sec 11 That a town Constable shall be appointed as other officers of the Corporation, who shall possess the same powers and perform the same duties within sai[d] town, as the constables in the different Counties possess in their respective Counties
possess and shall be entitled to the same compensation
Sec. 12. That the first election of officers shall be held at the court house in Mount Vernon on the day before specified in this act.
Sec 13 That those persons residing within the [designated?] limits of said town shall, in addition to keeping the streets in said town in good order, they shall also work, and keep in good repair the road leading from
said town to Carlyle and to Vandalia, one mile [on each?] road
Sec 14. That this act shall take effect and be in force
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from and after the first day of April next. Provided: That the General Assembly may repeal, alter[,] modify, or amend this act at pleasure
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[ docketing
]
H Reps
A Bill for “an act, to ^incorporate the trustees^ Record Certain property therein named of the town of Mount Vernon.2
A Bill for “an act, to ^incorporate the trustees^ Record Certain property therein named of the town of Mount Vernon.2
[ docketing
]
[01]/[08]/[1836]
[01]/[08]/[1836]
Engrossed
1Nathaniel Buckmaster introduced HB 131, originally titled “A Bill to Record Certain Property Therein Named,”
in the House of Representatives on January 2, 1836. The House referred the bill to a select committee. The select
committee reported back the bill on January 8 with amendments, which the House approved.
On January 11, the House passed the bill, and afterwards changed the title to “A Bill
to Incorporate the Trustees of the Town of Mount Vernon.” On January 16, the Senate tabled the bill and took no further action. In their next session, the legislature
passed an act allowing the inhabitants of Mount Vernon to incorporate under the provisions of the
1831 general incorporation act.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 198-99, 215, 255, 274-75; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 218, 282; “An Act to Incorporate the Inhabitants of
Such Towns as May Wish to be Incorporated,” 1 March 1831, Laws of Illinois (1831), 82-87.
2On January 11, 1836, the House of Representatives amended the bill’s title to read “A Bill to Incorporate the Trustees of the town
of Mount Vernon.”
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 275.
Handwritten Document, 8 page(s), Folder 121, HB 131, GA Session: 9-2,
Illinois State Archives (Springfield, IL) ,