A Bill

For an Act to distribute the school fund to the several counties in this State.

Sec.[Section] 1 Be it enacted by the People of the state of Illinois represented in the General Assembly. That the Commissioners of the school fund be and they are hereby required and directed to draw so much of the School fund of this state as may be deposited in the state Banks and place the same in the treasury of the state

Sec 2^nd It shall be the duty of the Governor to ascertain the amount of principal and interest which the state is indebted to the school fund for money borrowed thereof, so soon as the same can be done and upon the reciept of such information the Governor is hereby authorized, and required to negotiate a loan on the best terms for the state he possibly can for such sum of money as will be sufficient to reimburse the said fund for the principal and interest due the same by the state: Payable at any time after twenty years from the time of effecting said loan

Sec 3^rd Upon the payment into the treasury of the money aforesaid And also upon the reciept of other moneys from the treasury of the United states belonging to the school fund, it shall be the duty of the state

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treasurer, to give notice thereof for three weeks in the newspaper printed by the public printer

Sec 4. It shall be the duty of the State treasurer, on the first Monday of January next And on the same day in every year thereafter, on the warrant of the Auditor of Public Accounts to pay over to the school commissioner, upon his application in each and every county in this state that shall have accepted of the money under the provisions of this act, a rateable share of the school fund in proportion to the number of White children in each and every county under twenty one years of age as enumerated in the official returns of the census, as herein after provided for who shall reciept for said funds

Sec 5. It shall be the duty of the school commissioners in each of the several counties upon the reciept of any monies under this act to give fifteen days notice in one of the most public places in each township in his county, that he will loan so much of the school fund as shall be in his hands, stating the day and

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amount of funds in hand, which money shall be loaned in sums not less than fifty nor more than three hundred dollars to any one person, for the term of twelve months with interest, at the rate of twelve per cent per annum payable in advance, and the money aforesaid shall be loaned at the County seats of the several counties, and in addition to personal security, it shall also be the duty of said commissioner to take ^a^ mortgage on real estate as collateral security for the payment of the money so loaned, the expense and charges of the same to be paid by the borrower. And in all cases where suit shall be brought in the circuit Court for the collection of money borrowed as aforesaid if judgment is given against the Defendant it shall be the duty of the Court, to render judgment for five per cent damages on said amount to defray the charges for collection

Sec 6^th It shall be the duty of the said school commissioners to report their proceedings semi annually to the County Commissioners

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Court of their respective Counties, And to submit their Books, papers, notes[,] bonds[,] mortgages[,] and other securities for loans at the said periods to the said Court, and to permit the said Court at any time to inspect and examine the same. The said Commissioners Court shall have power upon good cause shewn and spread upon their records to remove any school commissioner in their respective counties, and to appoint another in his stead, provided any such school commissioner removed as aforesaid, may taken an appeal to the Circuit Court within twenty days from the time of entering such order of removal

Sec 7. The school Commissioners of the several counties in this state shall give bond to the Governor of the state of Illinois ^and his successors in office^ with good and sufficient freehold sureties in an amount sufficient to cover all sums of money that have or may come into his hands as such Commissioner to be approved by the County Commissioner’s Court, And the said Court shall have power from time to time to increase

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[th]e amount of said Bond or to require additional security thereto. Which said several bonds shall be conditioned, “faithfully to disburse all moneys which shall come to the hands of said Commissioners and fa^i^rly and honestly to discharge all duties required or to be required of them by law as school commissioners” And the said school commissioners and their securities shall be liable for all monies which shall come to the hands of the said school commissioners & all acts of non feasance mal feasance or mis feasance

Sec 8. If any school commissioner shall neglect or fail to account for and pay over any money or monies belonging to the school ^fund^ or shall fail or refuse to comply with all or any of the requisitions of law or all or any of the conditions of said bond an action in the name of the then governor of the state of Illinois for the use of the proper county, may be forth with maintained on said bond against the principal or his sureties, or all or any number of them and it shall not be necessary first to obtain judgment against the school commissioner aforesaid, but upon any trial of upon such bond the question of breach of any of the conditions thereof, or of neglect or failure to comply with any law of this state

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with ^any of the^ the laws of this state may be assigned imposing duty upon such commissioner may be assigned for breach of said bond and put in issue in said suit, and upon a full and fair trial judgment shall be rendered for such sum of money as is justly due with five percent damages on the same

Sec 9 It shall be the duty of the school commissioners of the several counties when they shall have recieved money as aforesaid, to ascertain the amount due to each Township in their respective counties, and in loaning the same to give a preference to the citizens of the township to which the same may belong, and in all cases when any school commissioner shall fail to pay over money, or shall negligently or wilfully loanes the same so that it be lost or squandered, so that the he shall be liable in an action of assumpsit in the name of the ^proper^ county for the use of the Township to which the said money shall belong,

Sec 10, If any school commissioner[,] treasurer of any township[,] or other officer having the custody and care of the school fund shall unlawfully convert the same to his own use, embezzle the same or shall

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fail to account for and pay over, when duly required, all school money which he may have recieved, as such officer, he shall be deemed guilty of larceny and upon conviction shall be fined and imprisoned as in other cases of larceny.

Sec 11^th It shall be the duty of the assessor or assessors of the several counties in this state, when assessing taxable property in 1840, ^and in each year thereafter^ to provide a separate column in which shall be set down, the number of white ^persons^ children under 202 years of age in each township of the several counties of this state, and within twenty days after completing said enumeration, the said assessor or assessors shall respectively make returns thereof, to the county commissioner’s court of the proper county, which said return shall be signed and sworn to by the assessor making the same, And the Clerk of the county commissioner’s Court, shall so soon as a full and complete return shall be made from all the townships of his county, in his office as aforesaid, make out and transmit to the auditor of public accounts, a correct abstract shewing

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^the aggregate^ of said enumeration, duly certified unde[r] the seal of the said court, which said abstract shall be kept on file in his office and shall be sufficient evidence to authorize the said auditor of public accounts to issue his warrant in favor [of] the scholl commissioner of the proper county, for the distributive share of the school fund, to which such county may be entitled as it has accrued or may accrue.

Sec 12^th It shall be the duty of the school Commissioner of each and every county in this state so soon as he shall have recieved his distributive share of the school fund and ^shall^ have3 ascertained the number of children in each township in his county to pay over to the treasurer of the ^several^ townships their respective distributive shares of the interest of the school fund

Sec 13^th Whenever any money shall come to the hands of any school commissioner which of right is due and payable to the treasurer of any township in his county it shall be his duty forthwith to pay the same over to the proper person and

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a failure to do so shall be sufficient cause to remove said Commissioner from Office

Sec 14. So much of the money as this state has recieved or may receive under the deposite law of Congress as is or may hereafter be added to the school fund shall be embraced in the foregoing sections of this act, and be distributed as therein provided

Sec 15. If any portion of the money hereby authorized to be distributed shall from any cause whatever be lost or squandered and thereby rendered unavailing for the objects and purposes aforesaid, It shall be the duty of the County Commissioners’ court when the money may be so lost to make an order at the[...?] first term of the Court after said loss shall be ascertained, that a tax be levied and collected in their respective ^said^ County4 on all such property as is or may be authorized to be taxed for state and county purposes for a sum sufficient to reimburse the school fund, in the amount of money so lost or squandered, and such sum when collected shall be added to

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and form a part of the principal of the school fund of the County in which it is so collected

Sec 16^th At the election to be holden on5 the first Monday of August next, It shall be the duty of the Judges of election in the several counties, in this state, to open a poll and provide a separate column so that all the legal voters in the several counties of the state, may vote for or against recieving their distributive share of the school fund and if a majority of those voting upon this question in any one county shall be in favor of recieving their distributive share of the school fund under the provisions of this act, It shall be the duty of the Auditor of public accounts to make out his warrant to all and every such county as shall vote for such distribution for their share of the school fund And those counties in which a majority of the votes shall be cast against the distribution of the school fund shall not be prejudiced by the operation of this act

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Provided that if any of the Counties shall determine not to take their proportion of the school fund as contemplated in this act they shall have a right to receive the same at any time here after when they shall determine to do so by a vote of a majority of the qualified voters at any regular election of said County in proportion to the number of white children in said county under the age of twenty years at the time of such election

Sec 17 It shall be the duty of the County Commiss^rs[Commissioners] Court, ^of each and every county^ to fix the amount of compensation to be recieved by the school commissioner of their respective county And it shall be the duty of the trustees of schools in the several townships of this state, to fix the amount of compensation to be recieved by the treasurer of such township, which compensation so allowed by the County Commissioner’s Court and the trustees of schools may be changed from time to time, and shall be in lieu of all other compensation whatsoever

Sec 18 That this law shall be published in the newspaper published by the public printer, and a copy thereof furnished to each school commissioner in this state.