Education.- Illinois has an excellent public school system. Education is free and compul sory for children from 7 to 14. In 1860, Illi nois had 464,304 pupils, 8,223 male teachers, 6,485 female teachers, and expended $1,512,211 in wages, and $2,259,868 for all school purposes. For the school year ending June 1915 Illinois had an estimated number of 1,493,473 children from 5 to 18; 1,064,221 enrolled, an average duration of 160 school days, 5,918 male teachers and 26,902 female teachers; she paid $23,179, 650 in salaries, and expended for school pur poses $39,508,058. During this period the aver age annual cost per pupil enrolled increased from less than $5 to about $40, and the average yearly wage of the teacher increased from a trifle over $100 to about $700. Religious edu cation and training cannot be given in the pub lic schools, but they are fairly well cared for by the churches, which in the order of their strength are Roman Catholic, Methodist, Lu theran, Baptist, Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ.
Higher education is provided for by a num ber of normal schools, colleges and universi ties. The public normal schools of the State are located as follows: The State Normal Uni versity at Normal; the Southern Illinois State Normal University at Carbondale; the North ern Illinois Normal School at De Kalb; the Eastern Illinois Normal School at Charleston; and the Western Illinois Normal School at Macomb. The Chicago Normal School, since 1896, has been maintained by appropriations made by the Chicago board of education. Most of the teachers of the State receive at least part of their training in these schools. In 1916 there were 147 male teachers, 171 female teachers, 1,893 male students and 7,548 female students in the six public normal schools. There were, in addition, four small private normal schools which contained 37 male teach ers, 44 female teachers, 164 male students and 437 female students. • In 1915 Illinois had 32 universities, colleges and schools of technology. These employed 2,056 male professors and instructors and 485 female. In the preparatory departments there were 2,983 male students and 1,306 female; in the collegiate departments there were 8,764 male students and 7,247 female; the resident graduate students numbered 1,679 male and female. The total receipts, exclusive of additions to the endowment, were $8,846,776.
Of these 32 institutions, four were exclusively for women and four for men. In 1916 the State had 15 theological schools with 1,656 stu dents, 11 law schools with 3,136 students, 8 medical schools with 2,264 students, 3 dental schools with 1,294 students, 3 schools of phar macy with 339 students, and 2 schools of veter inary medicine with 650 students. The three great universities of the State are Northwest ern, Chicago and Illinois. The latter stands at the head of a liberal system of free public edu cation. It was incorporated as Illinois Indus trial University 28 Feb. 1867, and it was opened 2 March 1868 at Urbana. The name was changed in 1885. From 4 teachers and 77 pupils in 1868, it increased to 54 teachers and 418 pupils in 1889, and to 868 teachers and officers and 6,828 students 21 Feb. 1917. About 558 of these students were in the schools of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy at Chicago.
Charitable Until recent times each charitable institution was under the con trol of a separate board of trustees, managers or commissioners, with some supervision in most cases by an unpaid State Board of Public Charities. By the act of 1909, repassed in 1912 and in effect 1 July 1912, however, all the °charitable were placed under the direct management of a single salaried Board of Administration, and subject to the visitation and inspection of an unpaid State Charities Commission. The five members of the single board of management were to be appointed by the Governor for a term of six years, confirmed by the Senate, and required to give all their time to the work. Their salary was to be $6,000. The State Treasurer is treasurer for all the institutions. One member of the Board of Administration, as fiscal supervisor, was to be business manager for all the institutions. Supplies were to be purchased for all on com petitive bids, and a uniform system of accounts and purchases was to be maintained. One member of the Board of Administration was required to be a trained specialist in the care of the insane, who form the largest group in the State institutions. In addition to this highly centralized system of administration, there were the following elaborate provisions for the inspection and investigation of the in stitutions: by the Board of Administration it self ; by the unpaid Charities Commission, which acts largely through the executive secre tary; and by the local boards of visitors for each institution. The Charities Commission was to have the supervisory and visitorial power of the old Board of Public Charities. Its duty was purely advisory and recommenda tory, based upon independent investigation into the whole field of public and private charity. The law required the Commission to inspect all State charitable institutions, all jails, alms houses, workhouses, houses of correction, all private institutions for mental and nervous dis eases and for the care of children, to which the Board of Administration issues its license. In brief, the Commission had, by law, supervisory and inspectional powers over all institutions, for whose management and administration the Board of Administration was responsible. The only executive or administrative duty belong ing to the Commission was that involved in the collection of criminal statistics. The Illinois Administrative Code, effective 1 July 1917 (see Government) again modified these arrange ments. The department of public welfare now has charge of the charitable, _lomat and re formatory institutions of the State. It per forms the functions of the old Board of Admin istration, three boards of commissioners and managers for the two State penitentiaries and reformatory and their subordinate officials, the board of prison industries, .and board of par dons. The Code makes provision for an alien ist, a criminologist, a fiscal supervisor, a super intendent of charities, a superintendent of pris ons, a superintendent of pardons and paroles, and an unpaid board of public welfare, which takes the place of the present State Charities Commission.