In force, July 4, 1839.
AN ACT to provide for the removal of the public offices to Springfield.
1Seat of Government to be at Springfield.
Proviso.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That from and after the fourth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine,
the seat of Government of the State of Illinois shall be deemed and held to be at Springfield, in the county of Sangamon; and all terms of the Supreme Court, and sessions of the General Assembly, which may be had or held after that
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date, shall be holden at Springfield; and from and after that date, all acts, judicial, legislative, or executive, required
to be done or executed at the seat of Government, shall be done and executed at Springfield; and all laws now in force requiring any officers to reside at the seat of Government,
or requiring any matter or thing to be done and performed, or requiring action of
any kind, by officers or individuals, at the seat of Government, are hereby made and
declared applicable to Springfield, as the seat of Government: Provided, however, The Secretary of State, Auditor, and Treasurer, shall continue and remain in Vandalia, and occupy their present offices, until required to remove as herein provided for.2Com’rs[Commissioners] of State house to notify Gov.[Governor], who shall issue proclamation.
Officers to obey proclamation.
Sec. 2. Whenever the commissioners of the State house shall have finished rooms suitable
for the public offices, or whenever suitable rooms for said offices shall be furnished,
free from expense to the State, they shall notify the Governor thereof, who shall, upon receiving such notice,
issue a proclamation requiring all State officers who are required to reside, or keep
their offices, at the seat of Government, to remove all books, records, documents,
seals, and papers, pertaining to their respective offices, to Springfield, by a day to be fixed in such proclamation; and it is hereby made the duty of all such officers to obey the said proclamation,
and, from and after the date fixed therein, to keep their respective offices at Springfield, the seat of Government.
Sec. 3. The Supreme Court is hereby authorized to make all such orders, and require the execution thereof,
as may be necessary to the transferring and removing the records, files, and papers,
of said court, to Springfield, by the time fixed by this act for the location of the seat of Government at that
place.
Next term of Sup. Court.
Sec. 4. The next term of the Supreme Court shall be holden on the second Monday in July next, and, thereafter, at the time required
by law.
Attorney Gen.[General]
Sec. 5. The Attorney General shall not be required to reside at the seat of Government during
the years 1839 and 1840; but after the year 1840 the Attorney General shall reside
at the seat of Government. During the years 1839 and 1840 the Attorney General shall
prosecute and perform the duties now required of him by law in the second judicial circuit.3
Approved, February 21, 1839.
1On January 18, 1839, Senator William Thomas introduced SB 97 in the Senate. On January 21, the Senate referred the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary with
a number of instructions. On January 23, the Committee on the Judiciary reported the
bill with several amendments, and the Senate concurred in those amendments. On January
25, the Senate passed the bill. On February 1, the House of Representatives referred the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. On February 7, the Committee
on the Judiciary reported the bill with several amendments, and the House concurred
in those amendments. On February 13, the House passed the bill. On February 18, the
Senate agreed to the House amendments. On February 21, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law on July 4, 1839.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 287, 321, 359-360, 390, 434, 471; Illinois Senate
Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 188, 200, 210-212, 225-226, 327, 345, 381.
2The legislature had passed an act to move the seat of government, and on February 28, 1837, voted to move the capital
from Vandalia to Springfield.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G.A., 1st sess. 752-58.
Printed Document, 2 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Eleventh General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1839), 141-42,GA Session: 11-1,