CHARTER

An Act to Revise the Charter of the Town of Cicero, Cook County.

1.

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: That the inhabitants and residents of the Town of Cicero, in the County of Cook, and State of Illinois, be, and they are hereby, constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of "The Town of Cicero," and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and may have and use a common seal, which they may change and alter at pleasure; may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in all courts of law and equity, in all actions whatsoever; and purchase, receive and hold property, real and personal, within and beyond the limits of said Town, for public grounds or town purposes, for the use of the inhabitants of said Town; and may sell, lease, or dispose of town property, real and personal, for the benefit of said Town, and improve and protect such property, and do all things in relation thereto, as natural persons.

2.

The boundaries of said Town shall include within their limits all that district of country now known as the Town of Cicero, in the County of Cook, and State of Illinois.

3.

The officers of said Town shall consist of a Supervisor, Assessor, Collector, Town Clerk, two Justices of the Peace, and two Constables, who shall be elected at the time, and in the manner, and hold their offices for the period, and perform the duties provided by law for such officers, respectively, in other towns in Cook County, except as otherwise provided by this act; there shall also be four trustees of said Town, and a Police Magistrate.

At the next Election of Officers under the Township Organization Laws for Town Officers in said County of Cook, there shall be elected, in the same manner as other town officers, four trustees for said Town of Cicero; one for the term of one year;[,] one for the term of two years;[,] one for the term of three years, and one for the term of four years; and at the same time, and in the same manner, and every four years thereafter, a Police Magistrate for said Town, who shall hold his office for the term of four years.

At each election in said County for Town Officers, subsequent to said next election, there shall be elected, in the same manner as other town officers, one Trustee of said Town, who shall hold his office for the term of four years.

The government and corporate powers of said Town shall be vested in and exercised by a Board of seven Trustees, to consist of the Supervisor, Assessor, Collector, and the four Trustees to be elected as hereinafter provided.

The election of Town Officers and Trustees may be contested, as in other cases of the contest of the election of town officers, under the Township Organization Laws.

When the office of any Town Officer or Trustee shall become vacant, the same shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment, by the said Board of Trustees.

4.

The said Board shall elect, from their own number, a President, who shall preside at the meetings of the Board, and preserve order; but the Board may, in his absence, elect a Chairman Pro Tem.

The Town Clerk shall be the Clerk of said Board, and it shall be his duty to keep correct minutes of all their proceedings. He shall also record, in a book to be kept for that purpose, all the ordinances, orders, or regulations passed by said Board; and also, he shall record in a separate book, to be kept for that purpose, all orders relating to special assessments, which said records shall be open to the inspection of any inhabitants of said Town.

The said Board are hereby authorized to adopt a common seal, which shall be the seal of the Town; and a certified copy of any order, ordinance, or proceeding of said Board, under the hand of the Clerk and the seal of the Town, shall be evidence, in all courts and places, of the truth of the matter therein stated.

5.

The Supervisor of said Town shall be, ex-officio, the Treasurer of said Town, and he shall receive and hold all moneys belonging to the Town, arising from general or special taxes, special assessments, fines, penalties, or otherwise; and he shall, upon entering upon the duties of his office, execute a bond to the Town of Cicero, in such sum and in such sureties as shall be determined by the Board, conditioned that he will faithfully account for all moneys that may come into his hands, and will pay the same over pursuant to the provisions of law, or the order or resolutions of the Board, and that he will faithfully perform the duties of his office. It shall be his duty to keep a correct account of all moneys received and paid out by him, and, when required, to furnish from time to time to the Board a statement of the moneys in his hands; and he shall receive such compensation, as such Treasurer, as shall be allowed him by said Board, not exceeding 2 percent upon all moneys received by him.

6.

The collector shall, upon entering upon the duties of his office, execute a bond to the Town of Cicero, in such sum and with such sureties as the Board shall determine, conditioned that he will well and truly pay over and account for all moneys that may come into his hands as Collector, to the party or parties entitled thereto, and that he will faithfully discharge the duties of his said office. Any person, corporation, county, or other body or officer, who shall be entitled to receive any such moneys, may have and maintain an action in the name of the Town of Cicero, to the use of such persons, corporations, county, or other body or officer, against the said Collector, and his sureties on said bond, to recover the amount so due. After the first of June, A.D. 1869, the Collector of said Town shall receive 2 percent commission on all town taxes and special assessments collected by him. No Collector of said Town shall be required to return any warrant in his hands, for the collection of any tax or assessment, before the first day of June, of each year.

7.

The majority of said Board shall constitute a quorum for business; and the said Board are authorized to make rules and regulations for their government and order of business, and may appoint such standing or special committees as they shall deem proper.

They may hold meetings from time to time, as they shall determine by their rules, and may adjourn the same; and may hold special meetings when the President, or any two members, shall file with the Clerk a written request for a special meeting; and the Clerk shall thereupon give each member of the Board at least three days' notice, in writing, in such manner as the Board, by its rules, shall determine.

Each member of said Board shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take an oath, in manner and form as in case of Town Officers, under the said Township Organization Laws.

8.

The Board of Trustees may from time to time appropriate so much money as they shall deem necessary, for the purpose of making the improvements which they are authorized by this act to make, and not herein otherwise specially provided for—and also so much money as they may deem necessary for the purpose of paying the salaries and fees of the Officers of said Town, and for the carrying out of their orders, by-laws, resolutions or ordinances, and the provisions of this act—and all amounts of money so appropriated shall be deemed a tax on the taxable property of said Town.

It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk to file with the Clerk of the County Court of said Cook County a certified statement of the sum of money so appropriated by said Board, as aforesaid, and said Clerk of said County shall include the total amount of the sums of money so certified by him, under the head of "Town Tax" in the next general warrant issued by him for the collection of State and County Taxes, in said Town of Cicero; and the same proceedings in all respects (shall be had for) the collection of the same, as is now provided by law for the collection of State and County Tax; and in no other manner nor by any other vote or authority shall money be appropriated or collected, except in cases of special assessment, as hereinafter provided.

9.

No money shall be paid out by the Treasurer of said Town, unless the same shall have been ordered by the Board, and then only upon a warrant drawn on him by the Clerk, countersigned by the President, specifying what particular fund the same shall be paid out of; and it shall be the duty of the Clerk to keep an account of all such warrants drawn by him.

The said Board shall, at the annual election, present to the voters a printed report, showing the amount of moneys ordered and collected, and from what sources derived, and the manner in which the same have been disbursed.

No member of said Board shall be interested in any contract made with said Board or with said Town, for the purpose of making any of the improvements contemplated by this act, nor shall the Collector be entitled to a vote in said Board on any question regarding his official bond or accounts.

10.

Upon the passage of all orders, ordinances or resolutions, appropriating or ordering the payment of money, imposing taxes, or appropriating money as aforesaid, or for special assessments, the yeas and nays shall be called and entered on the record; and the yeas and the nays shall in like manner be recorded whenever called for by any member on any question before said Board.

The members of said Board shall be entitled to receive the sum of Three Dollars for each day's attendance at the meetings of the Board, to be certified to by the Clerk; but it is hereby provided that no member of said Board shall be entitled to receive pay for more than one day's attendance in any one week.

11.

The said Board shall have, subject to the provisions of this act, the general management and control of the finances and all the property, real, personal and mixed, belonging to the Town, and shall likewise have power within the territory aforesaid, by ordinance, regulation or by-laws:

First: To restrain and prohibit all descriptions of gaming and fraudulent devices, and all playing of dice, cards and other games of chance, with or without betting.

Second: To regulate and license the selling or giving away of any ardent spirits by any shop-keeper, grocer, trader or other person, to be drank [sic] in any shop, store, out-house, yard, or other place in said Town.

Third: To license, regulate and restrain tavern keepers, grocers and keepers of ordinaries, or victualing or other houses, gardens or other places, for selling or giving away wines or other liquors, whether ardent, vinous or fermented.

Fourth: To license and regulate billiard tables, pin alleys, pigeon-hole tables, nine or ten-pin alleys, ball-alleys and shooting galleries.

Fifth: To authorize the President of the Board to grant licenses and direct the manner of issuing the same and the registry thereof, and the fees to be paid therefore [therefor], provided that no license be granted for more than one year. Bond may be taken payable to the Town on the granting of license, for the due observance of the ordinances and regulations of the Board; provided, that no more than One Hundred Dollars per year shall be charged for any license granted under this act by said Board.

Sixth: To prevent any riot or noise, disturbance or disorderly assemblage.

Seventh: To suppress and restrain disorderly houses and groceries, and houses of ill-fame, and to authorize the destruction and demolition of all instruments and devices used for the purpose of gaming.

Eight: To compel the owner or occupant of any grocery or cellar, tallow chandler shop, soap factory, tannery, or other unwholesome, nauseous house or place, to cleanse or remove or abate the same from time to time, as often as may be by said Board deemed necessary for the health, convenience and comfort of the inhabitants of said Town.

Ninth: To restrain, regulate or prohibit the running at large of cattle, horses or other animals, or the driving of the same upon the public highways, streets or alleys, and to authorize the distraining, impounding and sale of the same for the penalty incurred and the cost of proceedings, and also to impose penalties on the owners or drivers of any such animals, for a violation of any ordinance relative thereto.

Tenth: To prevent and regulate the running at large of dogs, to tax and authorize the destruction of the same when at large contrary to ordinances.

Eleventh: To make regulations to prevent the introduction or spread of contagious diseases in the Town.

Twelfth: To control and regulate the highways, streets, alleys and other public places, and abate any obstructions, encroachments, or nuisances thereon. (See also § 15, ¶ First.)

Thirteenth: To establish and regulate public pounds, appoint poundmasters and prescribe their duties and fees.

Fourteenth: To direct and regulate the planting and preserving of ornamental trees in the streets and public grounds in said Town.

Fifteenth: To deliver (determine) and abate all nuisances which are or may be injurious to the public health, in any manner they may deem expedient.

Sixteenth: To direct the location and management of and to regulate, restrain, prohibit or license, [sic] magazines or store houses for the storage of gun powder [gunpowder] or other combustible material, breweries, tanneries, packing houses, distillers, slaughterhouses, butcher shops, stock yards, or the establishments for the steaming or rendering of lard, tallow, offal, manure, or such other substances as can or may be rendered, boiled or steamed; and all establishments or places where any nauseous, offensive or unwholesome business may be carried on; and to regulate and to prescribe the mode and manner of the conveyance or transportation of gun powder [gunpowder] or other combustible material on or over the highways, streets, alleys, water courses and railways, and public or private places of said Town.

To restrain and prohibit the deposit of any night soil, dead animals, manure or other filthy or offensive or nauseous substance upon any lot, street, alley, highway or other place in said Town.

Seventeenth: To restrain, prohibit, and punish for the cutting, destroying, marring or defacing of any shade tree or ornamental shrub or other tree, upon any street, highway or other public place; and to restrain and prohibit the defacing of any depot or other building, and to prevent the writing of bawdy or indecent words, or the making of obscene pictures on such depots or other buildings.

Eighteenth: To regulate, restrain and prohibit shooting or discharge of firearms in said Town.

Nineteenth: To punish all persons who shall resist any officer of said Town, or policeman, or other officer or agent appointed by said Board, in the discharge of his official duties.

Twentieth: To prevent public dogfights, bull-fights, prize fights, or any public or private fighting, and to restrain loud or unbecoming, profane or indecent language, or disorderly conduct in said Town.

Twenty-first: To require railroad companies to construct and keep in repair suitable crossings at the intersection of highways, streets, and alleys, when the Board of Trustees shall deem it necessary, and to require them to keep open and in repair, ditches, drains, sewers and culverts on the sides of and under their railroad tracks, so that filthy or stagnant pools of water cannot stand on their grounds or right of way [right-of-way]; and to compel railroad companies to keep their standing cars, and cars not in actual use, off the public highways, streets, alleys and places.

Twenty-second: To prohibit any indecent exhibition of horses or other animals:[.]

Twenty-third: To restrain and punish vagrants, mendicants, street beggars and prostitutes.

Twenty-fourth: To make, publish, ordain, amend and repeal all such ordinances, orders, by-laws, police and health regulations for the good government of the Town and public health as may be deemed by said Board necessary and expedient to carry into effect the powers vested in said Board, or any officer of said Town, or officer or agent of said Board, and to enforce observance of the same by fine or imprisonment, in the discretion of the magistrate or court before which conviction may be had, provided such fine shall not exceed One Hundred Dollars, nor such imprisonment thirty days.

Twenty-fifth: To appoint watchmen and policemen and prescribe their duties and powers.

12.

The Police Magistrate and any Justice of the Peace in said Town shall have jurisdiction of any offense committed under this act, or the rules, by-laws or ordinances of said Board, and change of venue and appeals may be taken as in other cases.

All fines and penalties when collected shall be paid to the Treasurer of said Town.

13.

It shall be the duty of any Justice of the Peace or Police Magistrate in said Town, and he is hereby authorized and empowered, on view or upon complaint being made to him upon oath of the violation of any ordinances, by-laws, or police regulations of said Town, to issue his warrant in the corporate name of the Town, directed to any constable, policeman or authorized person to apprehend the offender or offenders, and bring him or them before him forthwith, and after hearing the evidence, if it shall appear that the accused has been guilty of any violation of any such ordinance, by-law or regulation, to impose such fine or imprisonment, as may be provided in such ordinance, by-law or regulation.

Any fine or penalty may be remitted, or any person imprisoned may be discharged by a vote of the Board of Trustees.

14.

The Board of Trustees are hereby authorized to provide some safe place for the imprisonment of such persons as shall have been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment, and appoint a keeper thereof. Any such person or persons so convicted shall be confined therein for the period fixed by such sentence, unless sooner discharged.

And every person or persons who shall have been fined in any sum, and who shall neglect or refuse to pay the same, shall stand committed and be imprisoned as aforesaid until such fine is paid; provided, that for each and every day such person or persons shall be so imprisoned the sum of Two Dollars shall be remitted from the fine.

Any person escaping from such imprisonment may be arrested by any policeman, constable or other officer, without process, and be returned to prison, and the time during which such prisoner was absent shall not be taken as a part of the time for which he was sentenced.

15.

The said Board of Trustees shall have power from time to time:

First: To open and lay out any new street, alley or highway, and to cause any street, alley or highway to be altered, widened, extended, laid out, vacated, bridged, graded, macadamized, paved, planked, clayed, graveled, or otherwise improved, and to keep the same in repair. (See § 11, ¶ Twelfth.)

Second: To cause sidewalks, crosswalks, main drains and sewers, private drains and aqueducts to be constructed and laid, re-laid, cleansed and repaired, and to connect them or any of them with any drain or sewer running through any other town, on paying a reasonable compensation therefor, and to regulate the same.

16.

The Board of Trustees shall also have power, in pursuance of the provisions of this act, to levy and collect special assessments upon any land in said Town, for any of the improvements contemplated by this act, or the same may be paid for out of the general town money, or a portion of the expense paid out of the general town money, and a portion paid by special assessments, as may be determined upon by the Board of Trustees.

17.

Whenever the Board of Trustees of said Town shall order any improvement, any part of the cost of which is to be paid by special assessment, they shall determine what part or portion of the cost and expense of the improvement shall be paid by special assessment, and what part or proportion (if any) of such cost and expense shall be paid out of the public fund or treasury of said Town.

The Board of Trustees shall by ballot elect two of their number, who, with the Town Assessor, shall constitute the Commissioners to make such assessment. The Commissioners, before entering upon the duties of their office, shall make oath before the Town Clerk, or some officer authorized to administer oaths, that they will faithfully and impartially make such assessment according to the best of their ability.

18.

The Commissioners, in all cases of special assessments, shall give six days' notice, by posting up notices in three of the most public places in said Town of Cicero, of the time and place of making such assessment, to all persons interested, and they may, if necessary, adjourn from day to day. The Commissioners shall, in cases where no land is to be condemned or appropriated[,] assess the amount directed by said Board of Trustees so to be assessed upon the real estate by them deemed benefited by such improvement, in proportion to the special benefit resulting thereto, as nearly as may be; and briefly describe, in the assessment roll to be made by them, the real estate upon which the assessment is made. (See § 21.)

19.

Whenever any order is passed by the Board of Trustees for the making of any public improvement which shall require the condemnation or appropriation of any land or real estate, the Commissioners shall proceed to ascertain and assess the damages and recompense due the owners of said lands, respectively, and at the same time to determine what real estate will be benefited by such improvement, and assess the damages, together with costs of the proceeding, on the real estate by them deemed benefited, in proportion, as nearly as may be, to the special benefit resulting to each separate lot or parcel; and the assessment shall cover only the damage of the real estate appropriated and the cost of the proceedings.

20.

The Commissioners, in making the assessment, shall determine or appraise to the owner or owners the value of the real estate appropriated for the improvement and the injuries arising to them respectively from the condemnation thereof, which shall be awarded to such owners respectively as damages, after making due allowance therefrom for any benefit which such owners may respectively derive from such improvement.

21.

If the damage to any person be greater than the benefit received, or if the benefit be greater than the damage, in either case the Commissioners shall strike a balance and carry the difference forward to another column, to be designated as "net benefits," or "net damages," as the case may be, so that the assessment may show what amount is to be received or paid by such owners respectively; and the difference only shall in any case be collected of them or paid to them. (See § 18.)

22.

In the assessment of damages and benefits[,] it shall be lawful for the Commissioners, in their description [discretion], in making such assessment, where part of the land to be appropriated has been theretofore donated for such improvement by any person or persons, to appraise the value of the land so donated, and to apply the value thereof, so far as the amount so appraised shall go, as an offset to the benefits assessed against the piece or parcel of land from which such donation was made; but nothing herein contained shall authorize the owner or owners of any such piece or parcel of land from which such said donation was made to claim from the Town the amount of such appraisal, except as an offset as herein provided. And where the assessment is one for the widening of any street or alley which may have been therefore [therefor], either in whole or in part, donated to the public by the proprietors of the adjoining land, it shall be lawful for said Commissioners, in their discretion, to take such fact into consideration in their assessment of benefits.

23.

Having ascertained the damages and expenses of such improvement, as aforesaid, the Commissioners shall thereupon apportion and assess the part or proportion of the cost and expense of said improvement directed by said Board, to be assessed upon the real estate by them deemed benefited, in proportion to the benefits resulting thereto from the improvement, as nearly as may be, and shall briefly describe the real estate upon which their assessments may be made.

24.

If there shall be any building standing, in whole or in part, upon the land to be taken, the Commissioner shall add to their estimate of damages for the land, the damages also for the building or part of building necessary to be taken, if it be the property of the owner of the land. When owned by any other person[,] the damages for the building shall be assessed separately.

The value of such building to the owner to remove, or of the part thereof necessary to be taken, shall also be determined by the Commissioners, and notice of such determination shall be given by them to the owner when known, if a resident of the Town, or left at his usual place of business or abode.

If the owner is not known, or is a nonresident, notice to all persons interested shall be given by the Commissioners, by posting up notices in three public places in the Town for six days. Such owner may, at any time within ten days after service or after the first day such notice shall be posted, notify the said Commissioners, in writing, of his election to take such building or part of building at their appraisal, and[,] in such case[,] the amount of said appraisal shall be deducted by the Commissioners from the estimated damages for the land and building where they belong to the same owner, and from the estimated damage to the building where they belong to different owners; and the owners shall have such time for the removal of the building after the confirmation of the assessment as the Board of Trustees may allow.

If the owner shall refuse to take the building at the appraisal and fail to give notice of his election, as aforesaid within the time prescribed, then no deduction shall be made from the estimated damages aforesaid, and the Board of Trustees shall, after the confirmation of the assessment, and after the money is collected or otherwise provided and in the hands of the Treasurer, to be paid over to the owner for his damages, proceed to sell such building or part of building at public auction, for cash, giving at least ten days' notice of such sale, by posting notices in three of the public places in said Town, and cause such building to be forthwith removed.

The proceeds of such sale shall be paid into the Town Treasury, to the credit of the special assessment fund for the said improvement.

25.

When any assessment requiring the condemnation or appropriation of land shall have been confirmed, the Town Clerk shall preserve a copy thereof in his office, which copy shall be evidence of the amount due the several owners of land or real estate to whom damages have been awarded.

26.

Any person whose property has been appropriated and who has filed objections to said assessment, as hereinafter provided, shall have the right at any time within ten days after the confirmation of the same, and not after that time, having first given notice in writing of his or her intention so to do, to the Town Clerk, specifying in such notice the court to which the appeal is to be taken, to pray an appeal to any court of general jurisdiction in Cook County, from the order of the Board confirming such assessment, upon filing a bond approved by any judge of the court to which the appeal is taken, conditioned to save the Town harmless from all damages by the taking of such appeal.

In case of appeal, a copy of the assessment roll, as confirmed by the Board, and of the objections to the final order confirming the same, shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Court to which such appeal [is] to be taken, and the cause shall be docketed by said Clerk in the name of the person taking such appeal against the Town of Cicero, as an "appeal from assessment." The said cause shall then be at issue, and shall have the preference in order of trial over all civil causes pending in said court. Such appeal shall be tried by the court, and on such trial the only questions to be passed upon shall be whether the Board had jurisdiction in the case, and whether the valuation and assessment, so far as it effects [affects] said property, is a fair and impartial assessment.

The judgment of the court shall be either to confirm or annul the assessment, from which judgment no appeal or writ of error shall lie.

27.

When any special assessment, requiring the condemnation of property, shall have been confirmed by the Board and no appeal [is] taken therefrom, or if an appeal shall have been taken when judgment to confirm the assessment shall have been rendered thereon, the same shall be a lawful and sufficient condemnation of the land or property ordered to be appropriated.

The Board of Trustees shall thereupon cause to be paid to the owner of such property, or to his agent, the amount of damages over and above all benefits which may have been awarded therefor, as soon as a sufficient amount of the assessment shall have been collected for that purpose; but the claimant shall in all cases furnish an abstract of title, showing himself entitled to the damages before the same shall be paid.

If in any case there shall be any doubt as to who is entitled to the damages for the land taken, the Board may require of the claimant a bond, with good and sufficient sureties, to hold the Town harmless from the repayment of such damages and all costs and expenses in case any other person should claim such damages.

In all cases[,] the title to the land taken and condemned, in [the] manner aforesaid, shall be vested absolutely in the Town in fee simple.

28.

As soon as the money is collected and ready in the hands of the Treasurer to be paid over to parties entitled to damages for property condemned, the Town may then, and not before, enter upon, take possession of, and appropriate the property condemned.

29.

Whenever any special assessment shall come before the Board for confirmation, pursuant to the notice required by law to be given by the Town Clerk, and the same shall not, for any reason, be acted upon at the time specified, no new notice shall be required by the Clerk, but such assessment shall stand over as unfinished business, to be disposed of at such time as the Board shall determine.

30.

If from any cause the Town shall fail to collect the whole or any portion of any special assessment which may be levied, and which shall not have been canceled or set aside by competent authority, the Board of Trustees may at any time within three years after the confirmation of the original assessment, direct a new assessment to be made upon the delinquent property for the amount of such deficiency, which assessment shall be made, as near as may be, in the manner prescribed for the assessment; and it is hereby provided, that no such new assessment shall be invalid by reason of any illegality, matter or thing connected with the original assessment.

In all cases where partial payment shall have been made on such former assessment[,] they shall be credited or allowed on the new assessments to the property for which they were made, so that the assessment shall be equal and impartial in its results. If such new assessment shall prove ineffectual, either in whole or in part, the Board, at any time within the said period of three years, may order a third, and so on, to be levied in the same manner and for the same purpose. And it shall constitute no legal objection to such re-assessments that the property may have changed hands or been incumbered, it being the true intent and meaning of this section to make the cost and expense of all public improvements to be paid for by special assessments a charge and lien upon the property assessed therefore [therefor] for the full period of three years from the confirmation of the original assessment, and for such longer period as may be required to collect in due course of law any new assessment ordered by the Board of Trustees within that period.

31.

When the Commissioners shall have completed any assessment[,] they shall deliver the same to the Town Clerk of said Town of Cicero, within forty days after the ordering of such improvement by the Board, signed by the Commissioners.

The Town Clerk shall thereupon file the same in his office, and cause notices to be posted up in three of the most public places in said Town of Cicero for the space of six days, to all persons interested, of the completion of the assessment and the filing of the roll. Time and place shall be designated therein for hearing objections. Objections shall be heard before the Board, but all parties objecting shall in all cases file their objections in writing in the office of the Town Clerk, at least one day prior to the meeting of the Board designated in the Clerk's notice. The Board of Trustees may adjourn such hearing from day to day, and shall have power, in their discretion, to confirm or correct the assessment, or to order a new one. All assessments[,] when confirmed, shall be final and conclusive on all parties interested, unless an appeal be taken as hereinbefore provided, and they shall be collected as hereinafter provided.

32.

If the first assessment proves insufficient, another may be made in the same manner; or if too large a sum at any time shall be raised, the excess shall be refunded rateably to those by whom it was paid.

33.

The Commissioners shall be allowed Three Dollars per day for each day of actual service, which, together with all other actual expenses in relation to any assessment made in pursuance of this act, shall be deemed part of the expenses of the improvement, and included therein.

34.

When any special assessment shall have been confirmed by the Board of Trustees, and no appeal has been taken, it shall be the duty of the Town Clerk to file the same in the office of the Clerk of the County Court of said County of Cook; and it shall be the duty of the said Clerk of the County Court, in the warrant next thereafter to be issued for the collection of State and County taxes, levied upon the real estate of said Town of Cicero, to set down in a column for that purpose provided, opposite the several lots, pieces or parcels of real estate upon which assessments have been made for benefits, as hereinbefore provided, the amounts of said assessments respectively, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the Collector of Taxes for the State and County, [sic] to collect the said assessments and enforce the payment thereof, in the same manner, and with all the rights, powers and authority that he has to collect State and County taxes; and he shall pay the same over to the officer entitled to receive the Town Tax, at the same time that he is required to pay over the County revenue, and the proper court of said County shall render judgment against and order the sale of any lot, piece or parcel of real estate for the nonpayment of the said assessments and costs, in the same manner as is or may be provided for State and County taxes; and judgment shall be rendered for the aggregate amount for County, State and other taxes, and the assessments aforesaid.

The sale shall be conducted upon the same notice and judgment, and in the same manner as is or may be provided by law for the sale for State and County taxes.

The right of redemption shall exist and be exercised in the same manner, and deeds for property sold for any special assessments levied under this act, [sic] shall be executed by the same persons, and shall have the same effect as evidence as deeds executed in pursuance of the laws now in force, or hereafter to be enacted, providing for the collection of State and County taxes in Counties adopting the Township Organization.

In all special assessments, except those wherein real estate is sought to be condemned or appropriated to public use, the order of confirmation of such assessment by said Board shall be final and conclusive upon all persons interested, and no appeal shall be allowed from such order of confirmation; and nothing in this act shall be so construed as to permit an appeal from the order of confirmation of any special assessment, except in cases where land is sought to be appropriated or condemned.

No writ of certiorari shall issue in any manner of special assessment, except the same issue within thirty days after the confirmation of the assessment.

35.

The office of Highway Commissioner for said Town is hereby abolished, and all the power, rights, duties and authorities heretofore pertaining to Highway Commissioners of said Town, under the Township Organization Law, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby transferred to and vested in said Board of Trustees.

36.

No person shall be eligible to the office of Trustee of said Town who is not a legal voter of said Town, or who is a Trustee of any other Town or Municipal corporation. At the first election of Trustees hereby provided for, no ballot shall be counted for Trustees, which shall not designate the term or number of years for which the person so voted for as Trustee shall serve.

The Clerk of the County Court shall issue certificates of election to the Trustee and Police Magistrates elected under this act.

37.

The said Board of Trustees may cause any improvement authorized by this act to be made before or at the same time that proceedings may be in progress under this act for the levy and collection of the special assessment for the making of such improvement.

And for the purpose of making such improvement may barrow [borrow] money not to exceed the cost and expense of such an improvement as estimated by the Board of Trustees, at a rate of interest not to exceed ten percent per annum and for a term not to exceed three years—and pledge the faith and credit of said Town therefor by the issuing of bonds in the name of said Town for the repayment of such money and interest, which bonds shall be signed by the President of such Board and countersigned by the Town Clerk.

It shall be the duty of the said Town Clerk to keep a copy of all such bonds in the book of records, in which shall be kept the orders or ordinances for the making of special assessments; and the sum or sums of money so borrowed shall be placed in the Town Treasury to the credit of the improvement for the making of which the same was borrowed—and shall not be drawn out or used for any other purpose whatsoever than the payment of the cost and expenses of such improvement.

38.

All officers elected under the provisions of this act shall hold their offices until their successors shall be elected and qualified; and the present officers of said Town shall hold their offices until the first election of officers of said Town under this act, as hereinbefore provided; and until such officers so elected shall have [been] qualified; and the present Board of Trustees of said Town shall have all the power given the Board of Trustees under this act, and the other Town Officers shall have all the power and authority conferred on their successors by this act.

39.

The Police Magistrate elected under the provisions of this act shall take the same oath of office, and shall have all the power and authority, and shall receive like fees and emoluments as any Justice of the Peace of said Town, as provided by the laws of this State, general or special. The Police Magistrate and Justices of the Peace of said Town shall receive the same fees for all process issued by them, and services performed under the provisions of this act, that they receive for issuing process and performing services of like nature under the general law of this state.

40.

No special assessment which has been made[,] or which is now in process of being made, shall be invalidated by this act; but all special assessments which have been levied or are now in process of being levied under the present charter of said Town, [sic] shall be carried to a final completion of such levy, and the moneys for which the same are or may be levied shall be collected as now prescribed in the charter of the said Town, or under the provisions of this act, so far as the same may be applicable.

All acts or parts of acts of the General Assembly of this State inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed; but all the acts of the Town officers of said Town which were unlawful for them to do shall not be invalidated by this act.

41.

This act shall be a public act, and take effect from and after its passage.