Northwestern Univ. v. Village of Wilmette
| Decision Date | 05 December 1907 |
| Citation | 230 Ill. 80,82 N.E. 615 |
| Parties | NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY et al. v. VILLAGE OF WILMETTE. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from Cook County Court; W. L. Pond, Judge.
Application by the village of Wilmette for confirmation of a special assessment. From a judgment of confirmation, the Northwestern University and others appeal. Affirmed.
Augustus N. Gage, Ela, Grover & Graves, H. H. C. Miller, Western Starr, Alden, Latham & Young, George A. Mason, King, Lamb & Gage, Charles J. Michelet, H. S. Gemmill, Lee F. English, Otto Gresham, W. H. Johnson, and Robert W. Miller (Frank R. Grover, Carl R. Latham, and Asahel W. Gage, of counsel), for appellants.
Robert Redfield and A. C. Wenban (Tholman, Redfield & Sexton, of counsel), for appellee.
This is an application for judgment of confirmation by the village of Wilmette, in the county court of Cook county, of a special assessment levied by said village to pay the cost of constructing a system of sewers in a portion of the streets of said village to relieve the congested condition of the sewers already in the streets of said village, by furnishing additional means whereby the surface water which accumulates in said village at times of excessive rainfall or freshets may be carried into Lake Michigan, which lies to the east of said village of Wilmette. The appellants appeared and filed objections to confirmation as to their property, and there was a hearing before the court upon the legal questions involved, and afterwards a trial before the court and a jury upon the questions of benefits and whether the property of the appellants was assessed more than its proportionate share of the cost of the improvement, and, the findings upon both branches of the case having been against the appellants, a judgment of confirmation was entered against appellants' property, and they have prosecuted an appeal to this court.
First. It is objected that the estimate of the cost of the improvement is not sufficient, in this: That it makes no provision for the cost of the repaving of streets in which the sewers are to be constructed or for the removal of the surplus earth taken from the ditches in which the sewers are to be laid. The estimate of the cost of the improvement is in the following form:
+--------------------------------------------------------+
¦Estimate Cost of Improvement. ¦
+--------------------------------------------------------¦
¦550 lineal feet of oak plank sewer, at $3 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦per lineal foot ¦$ 1,650 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦2,090 lineal feet of concrete sewer of 6 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦feet internal diameter, at $8.70 per ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦lineal foot ¦18,183 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦3,710 lineal feet of concrete sewer of 5 1/2¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦feet internal diameter, at $8.20 per ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦lineal foot ¦30,422 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦1,630 lineal feet of concrete sewer of 48 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦inches internal diameter, at $6.70 per ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦lineal foot ¦10,921 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦1,375 lineal feet of concrete sewer of 45 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦inches internal diameter, at $6.20 per ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦lineal foot ¦8,525 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦3,250 lineal feet of concrete sewer of 42 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦inches internal diameter, at $5.70 per ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦lineal foot ¦18,525 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦1,260 lineal feet of concrete sewer of 36 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦inches diameter, at $4.70 per lineal foot ¦5,922 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦5,500 lineal feet of concrete sewer of 30 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦inches internal diameter, at $4.20 per ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦lineal foot ¦23,100 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦4,625 lineal feet of vitrified tile pipe ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦sewer of 24 inches internal diameter, ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦at $3.20 per lineal foot ¦14,800 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦1,900 lineal feet of vitrified tile pipe ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦sewer of 18 inches internal diameter, ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦at $2.70 per lineal foot ¦5,130 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦1 concrete bulkhead ¦300 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦25 ordinary manholes, complete, at $30 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦each ¦750 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦33 spillway manholes of 4 feet internal ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦diameter, complete, with conduit, at $40 ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦each ¦1,320 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦1 spillway manhole of 6 feet internal ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦diameter, complete, with conduit ¦50 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦31 catch-basins and connections, complete, ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦at $35 each ¦1,085 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦For lawful expenses attending the ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦proceedings for making said improvement ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦and the cost of making and collecting ¦ ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦the assessment therefor ¦8,400 00 ¦
+--------------------------------------------+-----------¦
¦Total ¦$149,083 00¦
+--------------------------------------------------------+
And the ordinance provides: ‘All the necessary labor and work shall be performed in a good and workmanlike manner.’ We think it clear that the cost of repaving streets torn up in excavating for the sewers and removing surplus earth placed upon the streets of the village during the construction of the sewers is included in the estimate of the cost of the improvement, as, obviously, the improvement would not be put in in a good and workmanlike manner if the portions of the streets where sewers were laid were left unpaved, and the earth excavated and not used for refilling remained in the streets as an obstruction to travel. It has repeatedly been held by this court that an itemized statement of the cost of a local improvement is sufficient which contains a statement of the cost of the substantial component elements of the improvement. Hulbert v. City of Chicago, 213 Ill. 452, 72 N. E. 1097;Clark v. City of Chicago, 214 Ill. 318, 73 N. E. 358;Connecticut Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. City of Chicago, 217 Ill. 352, 75 N. E. 365.
It is said, however, that the ordinance provides that the improvement shall be constructed under the direction and supervision and to the satisfaction of the board of local improvements of the village of Wilmette, and that to allow said board to determine whether the work of construction had been performed in a good and workmanlike manner would be to vest a discretion in said board which would render the ordinance void. We do not agree with this contention. The approval of the work by the board of local improvements is only tentative, as before the improvement can be accepted and paid for by the village the court in which the assessment is confirmed must determine that the improvement is constructed substantially according to the improvement ordinance (Case v. City of Sullivan, 222 Ill. 56, 78 N. E. 37); and should the board of local improvements determine that the sewers had been put in in a good and workmanlike manner when paved streets remained torn up and obstructed by earth, the approval would be annulled by the court, and the improvement would be directed to be completed by replacing the pavement which had been disturbed and removing the earth from the surface of the streets before the construction of the work would be approved and the contract price directed to be paid to the contractor, so that there is nothing to be feared from the abuse of the power conferred...
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