Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force Feb.[February] 27th, 1837.

AN ACT to vacate parts of certain roads.
1
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That so much of all state and county roads leading to and from the town of Bloomington, as lies between the recorded limits of the same, are hereby vacated and annulled.2

Approved February 27, 1837.

1On January 27, 1837, James Allin introduced SB 130 in the Senate. The Senate passed the bill on February 2. On February 11, the House of Representatives amended the bill by striking out section two. The House passed the bill as amended on February 18. On February 23, the Senate concurred in the House amendment. On February 27, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 452, 565, 641, 687, 716, 729; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 310, 328, 336, (461), 497, 523, 528, 543-544.

2On February 11, 1837, the House of Representatives amended the bill by striking out a second section vacating part of a state road leading from Chicago to Grafton lying between Bloomington and Sugar Creek in McLean County.Sugar Creek is stream that rises north of Bloomington and flows is a southwestward toward Sangamon County. State roads were those public roads established or designated by the General Assembly and usually crossed county lines. Only the General Assembly could establish, alter, or abandon state roads, until 1840 and 1841, when the General Assembly gave counties the authority to alter or to abandon state roads upon petition by a majority of voters in the area of the change.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 565; J. M. Peck, A Gazetteer of Illinois, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: Grigg & Elliot, 1837), 300; An Act concerning Public Roads, sec. 9; An Act Authorizing Commissioners’ Courts to Alter, Change, and Relocate State Roads; An Act concerning Public Roads.