Andrews v. the Bd. of Supervisors of Knox County.

• Decision Date: 30 September 1873
• Citation: 1873 WL 8548,70 Ill. 65
• Parties: LEWIS ANDREWSv.THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF KNOX COUNTY.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

70 Ill. 65

1873 WL 8548 (Ill.)

LEWIS ANDREWS

v.THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF KNOX COUNTY.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

September Term, 1873.

APPEAL from the Circuit Court of Peoria county; the Hon. HENRY B. HOPKINS, Judge, presiding. Mr. S. M. HOWARD, for the appellant.

Messrs. WILLIAMS, MCKENZIE & CALKINS, for the appellee.

Mr. CHIEF JUSTICE BREESE delivered the opinion of the Court:

This is an appeal from an order of the judge of the Peoria circuit court made in vacation, dissolving an injunction. No point is made upon the regularity of the proceedings, but the case is presented and argued upon its merits.

Appellant had filed his bill in chancery in the Knox circuit court for an injunction to restrain the board of supervisors of that county from building a jail at Galesburg, the seat of justice of that county. Appellant represented himself as a tax-payer on a large amount of property in Knox county, and denied the necessity for any expenditure of money for such purpose, alleging that the jail at Knoxville, five miles distant, the former seat of justice, was amply sufficient for all county purposes, and easy of access by a good public road and by railroad. Appellant, in his bill, reviews the proceedings in Knox county, by which the seat of justice was removed from Knoxville to Galesburg, and insists that a majority of the people of the county are opposed to the removal, and that it would so appear by the result of an election soon to take place. This proceeding has the appearance of an appeal from the decision of this court, rendered at January term, 1873, establishing the county seat at Galesburg by a majority of the votes of the people, in conformity with an act of the General Assembly, passed for such purpose, and refusing, before this bill was filed, a petition for a rehearing in the cause presented by the advocates of Knoxville. That question must be considered, for the present at least, at rest, and this court must recognize Galesburg as the seat of justice, or county seat, of Knox county, until some change shall be lawfully made. Owing to a supposed personal interest of the judge of the Knox circuit court, the application for an injunction was made to the judge of the eighth judicial circuit, without any notice having been given to the county authorities, who, on the ex parte statements of appellant, granted a temporary injunction against the board of supervisors, as prayed in the bill, until the court should make an order to the contrary.

In the bill it was alleged the petition for a rehearing in the Supreme Court was then pending when the bill was filed. This is admitted, on the record, to be a misstatement, and we can not but think this allegation of the bill must have had great influence with the learned judge to grant the injunction, and one so sweeping as this is. The election alluded to in the bill, which was to take place in the following November, was an election again to test the strength of parties on the question of removal of the county seat, on which occasion it was decided, by a large majority, that the county seat should be permanently established at the city of Galesburg, of which this court will take judicial notice as a fact connected with the organization of counties.

It appears, when the writ of injunction was served, the defendants therein at once gave notice of a motion to dissolve it, and in due time prepared an answer, which was sworn to by one of the supervisors, before a notary public, on the 18th of March, the writ having been served on the 13th of that month.

At the March term of the Henderson circuit court, a motion was made by the board of supervisors to dissolve the injunction, notice having been duly given to the complainant in the bill. At this term, the complainant, by his solicitor, appeared and presented the petition of complainant for a change of venue, which was granted, and the cause sent to the Peoria circuit court.

In that court, at the May term following, complainant entered his motion to strike the answer of the defendants from the files, for several reasons, the first of which was, that defendants were in contempt of the court issuing the injunction, and had not purged themselves from the contempt, and were in contempt of the Peoria circuit court; second, that the board of supervisors had acted in violation of the injunction after service upon them in their corporate capacity, and upon each individual member thereof, and have not purged themselves from the contempt; third, that the answer was not signed by the chief officer of the board. nor has the seal of the corporation been affixed; fourth, that the answer purports to be a joint and several answer, and there are not several defendants to the bill, but only a single defendant--the board of supervisors; fifth, that the answer is improperly signed by W. S. Gale, as a defendant to said bill, when, in fact, he is not a defendant; sixth, that defendants are not in a position to ask or claim a hearing of the motion to dissolve the injunction, for the reason that they have violated the injunction, and are in contempt of court; seventh, that no motion for a dissolution is before the court; no notice has been given of the application; and last, the answer is scandalous, impertinent,...