1On December 5, 1838, John J. Hardin introduced the resolution in the House of Representatives. The House adopted the resolution on December 8. On December 17, the House received
a reply from Governor Thomas Carlin, along with reports of the Board of Commissioners of Public Works.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State
of Illinois, at Their First Session, (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1838), 20, 49-50, 90.
2The Internal Improvement Act provided for the establishment of a seven-member board to oversee the state’s public
works projects at the local level. The board—President William Kinney and commissioners Murray McConnell, Elijah Willard, Milton K. Alexander, Joel Wright, Ebenezer Peck, and J. W. Stephenson—had presented their legally required semi-annual report to then Governor Joseph Duncan on June 4, 1838. The communication provided a list of expenditures on railroads,
roads, and water navigation projects and reported income of $291,176.81 and expenditures
totaling $301,641.75.
Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 23 June 1838, 2:6.
Printed Transcription, 1 page(s), Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State of Illinois at their First Session (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1838), 20