In force, Mar.[March] 2, 1839.
AN ACT in relation to the Penitentiary.
1Act repealed.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the first and second sections of an act, passed February 9, 1835, entitled “An act to amend an act, entitled ‘An act to regulate the penitentiary,’” approved February 19th, 1833, are hereby repealed.
Inspectors to appoint warden.
Power to revoke.
Sec. 2. The inspectors of the penitentiary are authorized and empowered to appoint a warden to superintend and manage the affairs
of the same. The inspectors shall have power to revoke the appointment of the warden whenever,
in their opinion, the interests of the State shall require it; but, unless so revoked, he shall hold his office for the term of
two years, and until his successor is appointed and qualified.2
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Watchmen.
Sec. 3. For the purpose of preventing the escape of convicts, the warden, with the approbation
of the inspectors, may employ three able-bodied and trusty men as prison-guards, who shall alternately,
under the direction of the warden, guard the prisoners as well by night as by day.
When labor of convicts is not sufficient,
Inspectors to draw on Auditor.
Sec. 4. On failure to realize, from the labor of the convicts confined in said penitentiary, a sum sufficient to defray the incidental expenses of the same and support the convicts,
the inspectors shall have power to draw on the Auditor for a sum, not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars per annum, to supply the deficiency.3
Salary of warden.
If convicts escape, warden to lose $30 on each.
Sec. 5. The warden shall receive a salary at the rate of one thousand dollars a year, payable,
quarterly, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated; but, if any convicts shall escape from said penitentiary during his continuance in office, a deduction of thirty dollars shall be made from
his salary for every convict so escaping.4
Monthly meetings of inspectors.
Sec. 6. The inspectors shall meet at the penitentiary on the first Monday of every month, at such hour as they shall appoint. They shall
appoint one of their number to act as secretary, who shall enter, in a book to be
provided for the purpose, all orders, regulations, and other transactions of the board.
One inspector to visit penitentiary once a week.
Sec. 7. One of the inspectors, to be designated by the board, shall visit the penitentiary once a week; and each inspector may visit the penitentiary as often as he shall think necessary.
Report of receipts and expenditures.
Sec. 8. At every monthly meeting of the board of inspectors, the superintendent shall make
a report of the receipts, expenses, and condition of the penitentiary during the preceding month.
Sec. 9. The inspectors shall establish and maintain a rigid system of police in the penitentiary; and, so far as practicable they shall prevent any conversation between the convicts.
Bible to each convict.
Sec. 10. The inspectors are authorized to furnish, at the expense of the State, a copy of the Bible to each convict who is able and willing to read the same.
List of convicts.
Sec. 11. The warden is authorized, under the direction of the inspectors, to procure,
at the expense of the State, a book or books, in which he shall keep a descriptive list of all the convicts, stating their age,
place of birth, place and time of conviction; crime of which they were convicted;
duration of sentence; time of reception into the penitentiary; trade, business, or profession; former habits of life; whether married or unmarried;
and such other particulars as the inspectors may direct.
Extra work of convicts to be credited.
Sec. 12. The inspectors are authorized, if, in their opinion, the public interest will
be promoted thereby, to cause a separate account to be opened by the warden with each
convict,
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in which such convict shall be credited with all the extra work which he may perform,
and charged for all the time he may lose by refusal to labor, or miscondnct of any kind.
Weekly entry.
Sec. 13. At the close of each week, the warden shall make an entry, in a book to be kept for
that purpose, of the good or bad behaviour of each convict during the week; also, of the state of such convict’s health, and
such other particulars as, in the opinion of the inspectors, it may be useful for
them to know.
Convicts may be allowed pay.
Sec. 14. The inspectors are authorized, if they shall deem it expedient, to allow compensation to the convicts for work performed over and above the quantity
usually required of workmen, such compensation to be applied, under the direction
of the inspectors, in supplying such convicts with useful reading; to the support
of their families, if they have any; or it may be placed to their credit, and paid
to them when they are discharged from the penitentiary.
No inspector to be interested in sale or lease.
Sec. 15. No inspector of the penitentiary shall become personally interested, either directly or indirectly, in any purchase,
sale, lease, or contract of any kind, to be entered into by the board of inspectors,
on behalf of the State, with any person or persons whomsoever, under a penalty of two hundred dollars.
Officers to take oath.
Sec. 16. Before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, the inspectors and warden of the penitentiary shall severally take and subscribe an oath to support the constitution of the United
States and of this State, and faithfully to perform the duties of their respective offices according to law
and to the best of their ability. Such oaths may be administered by any judge, justice
of the peace, or notary public, of this State, and shall be transmitted by the inspectors to the Secretary of State, and filed
in his office.
Officers’ bond.
Sec. 17. Each of the inspectors of the penitentiary, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall execute a bond to the Governor, for the use of the people of this State, in the penal sum of five thousand dollars, with sufficient sureties, to be approved
by the judge of the second judicial circuit, or the judge of the municipal court of the city of Alton, with the condition that such inspector shall faithfully perform the duties of his
office according to law; which bond shall be transmitted, by the inspectors, to the
Secretary of State, and filed in his office.
Bond of warden.
Sec. 18. The warden of the penitentiary, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall execute a bond to the Governor, for the use of the people of this State, in the penal sum of ten thousand dollars, with sufficient sureties, approved by
the judge of the second judicial circuit, or by the judge of the municipal court of the city of Alton, conditioned that the said warden shall faithfully and truly perform the duties of
said office according to law.
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Spirituous liquors not allowed.
Sec. 19. No spirituous liquors 5shall be given or furnished to any convict, unless prescribed by a physician.
Proviso.
Sec. 20. The inspectors shall have power to increase the number of prison-guards when
the increased number of convicts shall render it necessary: Provided, That not more than three guards shall be employed, unless the number of convicts
shall amount to forty.
Penitentiary may be leased.
Proviso.
Sec. 21. The inspectors of the penitentiary are hereby authorized, if, in their opinion, the interests of the State will be promoted thereby, to lease the penitentiary, and the labor of the convicts, for a term of years not exceeding three6, to some qualified and responsible person, who shall thenceforth, during the continuance
of the lease, be the warden of the penitentiary, and shall perform all the duties required of that officer by law; such lessee being
required to furnish all necessary food, clothing, and bedding for the convicts; to
hire all the necessary guards; and, in all respects, to manage the affairs of the
penitentiary in such a manner as best to promote the reformation, improvement, and health of the
convicts: Provided, That the penitentiary shall not be leased for a longer term than three years, nor upon any terms which
will make the penitentiary a cost to the State.7
No contract shall restrain the power of Governor to reprieve.
Sec. 22. No contract shall be entered into by the inspectors with any lessee which will restrain
or affect the power of the Executive to pardon any convict confined in the penitentiary, or to grant the lessee any remuneration in consequence of the exercise of the pardoning
power.
Sec. 23. No contract which may be entered into by the inspectors with any lessee shall
be so construed as to interfere with the right of the State to remove the convicts to another building hereafter to be erected;8 but the right to make such removal is hereby reserved, and when such removal shall
have been made, the lease herein provided for shall no longer attach to the present
penitentiary buildings, but shall thenceforth attach and apply to such new penitentiary.
Triplicate copies of lease.
Sec. 24. Triplicate copies of such lease shall be executed by the parties; one copy of which
shall be kept by the lessee, one retained by the inspectors, and the other copy shall
be transmitted by them to the Secretary of State, and filed in his office.
Warden, by virtue of lease.
Sec. 25. The person who may become warden of the penitentiary, by virtue of a lease as herein provided, shall be required to take an oath of office,
and give bond as in other cases, but shall receive no salary or other compensation,
except such as shall be stipulated in such lease.
Sec. 26. No lease, entered into by the inspectors in pursuance of this act, shall be
transferable by the lessee without the written assent of the inspectors.
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Sec. 27. Before executing any lease of the penitentiary, and of the labor of the convicts, the inspectors shall appoint a day on which they
will receive written proposals for such lease; and they shall cause four weeks’ notice
to be given of the same, by advertisement in the newspapers published at Alton, and in the newspaper published by the State printer. In deciding upon the proposals
received, the inspectors shall take into consideration the qualifications and ability
of the persons offering the same.
Sec. 28. No warden of the penitentiary, unless he is also the lessee thereof, shall become personally interested, either
directly of indirectly, in any purchase, sale, er contract to be entered into by the board of inspectors, on behalf of the State, with any person or persons whomsoever, under a penalty of two hundred dollars.
Sec. 29. The Governor shall have power to remove from office any inspector of the penitentiary, for misconduct or long continued neglect of the duties of his office, and to appoint
another person to fill the vacancy until the end of the next succeeding session of
the General Assembly.
Sec. 30. Whenever the inspectors shall lease the penitentiary, they shall make an inventory of all the tools, and all the manufactured articles,
and raw materials belonging to the penitentiary, and fix upon them such prices as in their judgment they will readily sell for; a
copy of which inventory shall be signed by the inspectors, and filed in the office
of the Auditor of Public Accounts.
Sec. 31. The lessee of the penitentiary may receive such property, at said valuation, on a credit of one year, by securing
the payment of the same. If he declines to receive it on these terms, the inspectors
shall have power to dispose of such property on the best terms they can procure.
Sec. 32. If the nspectors of the penitentiary shall fail to lease the peitentiary within a reasonable time, they shall be authorized to draw on the Auditor of Public Accounts for a sum not exceeding three thousand dollars, payable out of any money in the treasury
nototherwise appropriated; which sum shall be applied exclusively to the purchase of materials
for making barrels and other articles, the manufacture of which, at the penitentiary, may be considered by the inspectors advantageous to the State.
Laws repealed.
Sec. 33. All laws and parts of laws coming within the purview of this act are hereby repealed.
This act shall be in force from and after its passage.
Approved, March 2, 1839.
1On February 19, 1839, George Churchill introduced SB 234 in the Senate. The Senate referred the bill to the Committee on the Penitentiary, which reported
back with an amendment on February 25. The Senate approved the amendment and on February
26 they passed the bill. On February 27, the House of Representatives referred the
bill to the Committee on the Penitentiary, of which Abraham Lincoln was a member. The committee reported back the bill on March 1 without amendment.
The House amended Section 19 and then rejected passage of the bill by a vote of 28
yeas to 33 nays, with Lincoln voting yea. The House then reconsidered their vote,
amended language in Sections 21 and 23, and passed the bill upon reconsideration.
The Senate approved the House amendments on the same day. On March 2, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 525, 545, 572-73, 587; Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 346, 408, 429, 471-72, 481, 487, 510-11, 512.
2In 1837, the General Assembly passed an act repealing the 1835 law, effectively abolishing the position of an elected warden and instead vesting the
inspectors of the penitentiary with the power to choose a superintendent.
3The amount given here represents an increase from $800, the amount allowed in the
previous legislation.
5On March 1, 1839, the House of Representatives amended the bill by striking out “or
tobacco” at this point in the text.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 572.
6On March 1, the House amended the bill by changing the term of years from ten to three.
Illinois House Journal, 572.
Printed Document, 5 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Eleventh General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1839), 278-82, GA Session: 11-1,