Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb. 12, 1839.

AN ACT regulating the salaries of the Judges of the Supreme Court.
1

Salaries increased.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That from and after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, the salary of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois shall be fifteen hundred dollars per annum, payable quarterly, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.2

Approved, February 12, 1839.

1In answer to a resolution passed by the Senate instructing a select committee to report a bill increasing the salaries of public servants, William Thomas introduced SB 106 on January 19, 1839. The Senate laid it on the table on January 25. On January 28, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 21 yeas to 17 nays. The House of Representatives referred the bill to the Committee on Finance, of which Abraham Lincoln was a member. The committee reported back on February 4 recommending passage without amendment. The House voted against passage on February 9 by a vote of 41 yeas to 43 nays, Lincoln voting yea. The members agreed to a second vote the same day and passed the bill by a vote of 47 yeas to 40 nays, Lincoln again voting yea. The Council of Revision approved the bull on February 12 and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G.A., 1st sess., 299, 308, 338, 371-72, 386; Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G.A., 1st sess., 192, 201, 225, 236, 306, 313, 323.

2Since 1827, Illinois Supreme Court judges had earned an annual salary of $800.
“An Act Regulating the Salaries, Fees and Compensation of the Several Officers and Persons therein Mentioned,” approved 19 February 1827, The Revised Code of Laws of Illinois (1827), 203.