The judicial powers of the State are vested in a Supreme Court, circuit courts, county courts, justices of the peace, police magis trates, and in such courts as may be created by law for cities and incorporated towns. The Supreme Court consists of sevenjudges and their term of office is nine years. The State is divided into 17 circuits, and the term of the circuit judges is fixed at six years. Inferior appellate' courts of uniform organization and jurisdiction, and composed of circuit judges, have been created. The legislative power of the State is vested by the constitution in the general assembly which consists of the senate and house of representatives. Senators must be 25 years of age, and representatives 21; both must be citizens of the United States and five years resident of the State. No person con victed of infamous crime or a public defaulter is eligible as senator or representative or to any office of profit or trust in the State. In addition to the ordinary official oath, each sen ator and representative is required to swear in substance that his election has in no way been secured by bribery. The number of senators is fixed at 51, and of representatives at 153; mi nority representation is provided for in the election of representatives. Senators are elected for four years (about half retire every two years) and representatives for two. Their salary was fixed at p per day during the ses sion by the constitution, but it may be and has been changed from time to time by legislative act. A majority of members elected to each house constitute a quorum. Bills may orip inate in either house subject to amendment in the other. No act is to embrace more than one subject and that is to be contained in the title. Every bill must be read at large upon three different days in each house, and upon final passage the yeas and nays must be taken on each bill separately. No money may be drawn from the treasury save in the pursuance of an appropriation made by law. The general as sembly is permitted to make appropriations for expenditures incurred in suppressing insurrec tion or repelling invasion.
Local government is of two general types rural and urban. In each county from 9 to 13 officers are elected. The most common offi cers are the county clerk, the county judge, the treasurer, the clerk of the circuit court, the State's attorney, the sheriff, the coroner, the county superintendent of schools and the county surveyor (a statutory officer). Any county may adopt or discontinue the system of township organization, on petition and a popu lar vote. Eighty-five of the 102 counties in Illinois have the township system. In the 85 counties there are 1,430 civil townships, with an average area slightly less than 36 square miles. Most of these townships are decidedly rural, with a population of from 1,000 to 2,000, but except in Chicago, where the townships have been practically abolished, they include cities and villages within their limits; hence there are a number of townships which have from 10,000 to 60,000 people. Cook County, like those counties in which townships are not found, is governed by a Board of Commission ers. These towns have limited powers, much less than in New England, for the important matters attended to by the towns there are looked after in Illinois by the cities, villages and school districts. The townships are vested
with corporate capacity, however, and may levy local taxes, make by-laws for a few enu merated purposes, vote to prohibit the granting of liquor licenses, and elect a number of offi cials for road and judicial administration and for the assessment and collection of taxes. The annual town meeting—of little importance — is held on the first Tuesday in April for the election of officers and the transaction of busi ness. The ordinary town officers are super visor, town clerk, assessor, collector, three commissioners of highways, and two to five jus tices of the peace and constables. Assistant supervisors are elected in the larger towns. The supervisor and assistant supervisors are members of the county board. The former acts also as town treasurer, and in many cases as overseer of the poor. The duties of the other officers are indicated fairly well by their titles. City government, until recently, was carried on largely under the authority of a mayor and a council, the former being an exec utive with appointive and veto power and the latter a legislative body. Chicago has created separate municipalities for different functions. In 1915 it had 22 governments and its citizens voted for 250 officials. Besides the mayor and councilmen, Chicago voters elected the city clerk, city treasurer, 31 municipal judges, and The bailiff and clerk of the municipal court, is an elective, but not a taxing body. There were 16 independent park commissions with taxing authority. Within the last decade, however, the older system has been replaced to a certain extent by a newer and more efficient government —the commission form. The law making this possible was passed in 1910. It provides that when in cities and villages not exceeding 200,000, electors equal in number to one-tenth of the votes cast for mayor at the last preceding election petition the county judge for the commission form of 'overnment it is his duty to submit the proposition at a special election to be called within 60 days, and at this election a majority of the votes cast determines the result. Within five years after its passage, 39 cities and villages, including the capital, adopted the new form; many others have adopted it also within the last two years. The law abolishes the system of ward aldermen and the distinct powers of the mayor and council. The general authority and responsibility for the municipal government is entrusted to a council, consisting of a mayor and four corn missioners elected at large. The executive and administrative work in cities under the commis sion plan is divided among the five depart ments, each assigned to one of the commission ers. The mayor is in charge of the depart ment of public affairs. The other departments are: Accounts and finances, public health and safety, streets and public improvements and public property. The council elects a city clerk, city attorney, treasurer and other munic ipal officers as corporation counsel, comptroller, chief of police, chief of fire department and library trustees. In cities of over 20,000 the mayor and commissioners are required to devote at least six hours a day to their official duties.