In force March 4th, 1837.
AN ACT making appropriations to the counties therein named.
1$400, appropriated for bridge across the Embarras river & where.
And shall be kept in repair.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the sum of four hundred dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated to the
building a bridge across the Embarrass river, where the State road2 from Charleston in Coles county, to Marshall in Clark county crosses the same, or at the nearest eligible point to said crossing, which sum shall
be paid out of the monies which have accumulated from the sales of the Vermillion Saline lands not otherwise appropriated, to be subject to the order of the county commissioners court of Coles county, and to be applied to the erection of said bridge in a strong and durable manner,
and said bridge shall thereafter be kept in repair by the said county of Coles, and shall be free from all tolls or charges for crossing the same.3
$300 appropriated to Jasper.
One hundred to Washington.
Sec. 2. The sum of three hundred dollars is hereby appropriated to building a bridge across
the Embarrass river at Newton in Jasper county, which sum is to be subject to the order of the county commissioners court of Jasper, for the purposes herein mentioned, and that the further sum of one hundred dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated
to each of the following counties, viz: McDonough, Schuyler, Fulton, Clay, Macon, McLean, Will, Hamilton, Champaign, Edgar, Montgomery, Franklin, Jefferson, Wabash, Hancock, Knox, Warren, Peoria, Marion, and Effingham, the above appropriations to be paid to the order of the county commissioners courts of the several conties above named, out of the appropriated avails of the sales of the Vermilion Saline lands,
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and the said appropriations to be applied under the direction of the county commissioners courts of said counties, in the improvement of roads and the erection of bridges, also the sum of one hundred dollars to the county of Washington, to be expended by the county commissioners court of said county, as they may think proper.4Approved, March 4, 1837.
1On February 13, 1837, Nathaniel Parker introduced SB 230, originally titled "An Act Making Certain Appropriations to the County of Coles to Build Certain Bridges Therein Named, and for Other Purposes,” in the Senate. The Senate referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported
back the bill on February 14 with an amendment, in which the Senate concurred. On
February 15, the Senate referred the bill to another select committee. The select
committee reported back the bill with an amendment, in which the Senate concurred.
The Senate further amended the bill by adding a section making provision for Alexander County. The Senate tabled the bill as amended. On February 20, the Senate took up the
bill and referred it to a select committee. The select committee reported back the
bill with an amendment, in which the Senate concurred. The Senate passed the bill
as amended, amending the title by striking out the word “county” and inserting in
lieu thereof the word “counties,” and by inserting the words “ and Jasper” following the word “Coles.” On February 25, the House of Representatives referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the
bill on March 1 with various amendments. The House amended the amendments of the
select committee by adding provision for Knox and Clinton counties. The House rejected the select committee’s amendments as amended by a
vote of 21 yeas to 35 nays, with Abraham Lincoln voting yea. The House referred the bill to the Committee on Propositions and Grievances.
The Committee on Propositions and Grievances reported back the bill on March 3 with
various amendments. The House amended the amendments by adding provision for Washington County. The House adopted the select committee’s amendments as amended. The House passed
the bill as amended, amending the title so as to read, “A Bill Making Appropriations
to the Counties Therein Named.” On March 4, the Senate approved the House amendments
and amended title. On the same day, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 654, 723, 779-80, 822-23, 849; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 406, 412-13, 432, 434-35, 461, 467, 623, 633, 639-41.
2State 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.
3Selling portions of the Saline Reserve Lands and appropriating the proceeds for public works was a forerunner of the Illinois Internal Improvement System. In 1827, the General Assembly petitioned Congress for permission to sell 30,000 acres in either Gallatin County or Vermilion County. An area on the Vermilion River in Vermilion County was eventually selected for sale, and the General Assembly, anticipating
congressional approval, enacted a law in 1829 establishing the mechanism for the sale
and appropriating the revenue received therefrom. Sections ten, eleven, twelve, and
thirteen appropriated the proceeds to various counties. By February 1835, the commissioner
authorized to sell the Vermilion Saline Reserve had sold 20,013 acres, realizing $25,840.
“An Act concerning the Saline Reserves, a Penitentiary, and the Improvement of Certain
Navigable Streams,” 15 February 1827, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1827), 353-60;“An Act Providing for the Sale of the Vermilion Saline Reserve, and
Appropriating the Avails Thereof,” 19 January 1829, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1829), 143-49;
Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 488.
4On March 3, 1837, the House of Representatives added the provision for Washington County.
Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 822.
Printed Document, 2 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Tenth General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1837), 11-12, GA Session: 10-1