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Resolved, That the committee on Finance be instructed to draft and report a bill to amend
the revenue laws of this State, so as each person shall be compelled to pay a tax according to the valuation of
the property that he or she may have in his or her possession; and said law shall
be so formed as to be in strict conformity to the 20th section of the 8th article
of the Constitution of the State of Illinois.2
1On December 8, 1838, John Dawson introduced the resolution in the House of Representatives. One member proposed an amendment, and the House referred the resolution and the
proposed amendment to the Committee of the Whole. On December 17, the Committee of
the Whole reported back that it had amended the proposed resolution and recommended
its passage as amended. On December 18, the House laid the resolution and the proposed
amendment on the table.
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), 33, 83, 88, 90, 95, 109.
2Existing Illinois law required taxation on privately-owned real property at a rate
of between one and two cents per acre, depending on the land’s value. The law also
proscribed the ways in which county commissioners’ courts could assess and collect taxes on personal property, like livestock, watches, and
slaves (yes, even slaves).
“An Act to Provide for Raising a Revenue,” approved 18 February 1827, The Revised Code of Laws of Illinois (1827), 325, 331.
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), 33