In force Feb.[February] 26, 1841.
An ACT to exempt certain articles from execution.
1Articles exempt.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That each person being the head of a family and residing with the same, shall be permitted to retain exempt from execution, in addition to the property mentioned
in the nineteenth section of “An act concerning judgments and executions,” approved,
January seventeenth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, sixty dollars worth
of property suited to his or her occupation and condition.2
Section repealed.
Sec. 2. The first section of an act entitled “An act exempting certain articles from execution in addition to those already exempted
by the laws of this State,” approved, February first, one thousand eight hundred and forty, is hereby repealed, and the second section of said act shall be construed to apply
to the first section of this act.34
Demand for rent shall be proved.
Sec. 3. In all cases where distress shall be made for rent, before any sale shall be made
of the property distrained, it
<Page 2>
shall be the duty of the party distraining to have the defendant summoned before the
circuit court or justice of the peace, and then and there to prove his demand as in other cases. Justices of the peace shall
have jurisdiction in cases under this act to the amount of one hundred dollars; and
in case the defendant shall have absconded or removed from the State, then notice shall be given before justices of the peace or the circuit court, as
in cases of attachment.
Sec. 4. That the same articles of property exempted from execution by this act or the
act to which this is an amendment, shall also be exempt from being taken by distress
for rent.5
Approved, February 26, 1841.
1Oliver Shepley introduced HB 5 in the House of Representatives on December 2, 1840. On December 7, the House referred the bill to the Committee
on the Judiciary. The Committee on the Judiciary reported back the bill on January
29, 1841, with amendments, and the House informally laid aside the bill and committee’s
report. On January 30, the House took up the committee’s report, rejecting the
third section by a vote of 37 yeas to 50 nays, with Abraham Lincoln voting nay. The House then approved the balance of the report. On February 6,
the House amended the bill by adding two additional sections. The House also struck
out the proviso in the second section. On February 11, the House rejected a further
amendment by a vote of 26 yeas to 58 nays, with Lincoln voting nay. The House passed
the bill as amended. On February 18, the Senate referred the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Committee on the Judiciary
reported back the bill on February 22, recommending its passage, and the Senate concurred.
On February 26, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 48, 86, 295, 300, 315, 344, 368, 473, 507, 514; Illinois Senate
Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 294, 307, 340, 366.
2Section 19 of the act referred to delineated the following items as exempt from execution:
one milk cow and calf, the family’s clothing, bedding and beds, a spinning wheel,
three months’ worth of provisions for the entire family, cooking utensils, and household
furniture not exceeding $15 in value.
“An Act concerning Judgments and Executions,” 17 January 1825, Laws Passed by the Fourth General Assembly of the State of Illinois at their First
Session (1825), 151-60.
3On February 6, 1841, the House of Representatives amended the bill by striking out the proviso in the second section.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 344.
4The first section of the act referred to provided that each head of family would retain
exempt from execution one horse or yoke of oxen not exceeding $60 in value. The second
section of the act referred to provided that in case of disagreements, two disinterested
householders could appraise the value of the property.
5On February 6, 1841, the House of Representatives amended the bill by adding the third and fourth sections.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 344.
Printed Document, 2 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly (Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841), 171-72, GA Session 12-2,