Gordon v. People ex rel. Kern

• Decision Date: 15 January 1895
• Parties: GORDON v. PEOPLE ex rel. KERN, County Treasurer.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

154 Ill. 664

39 N.E. 560

GORDON

v.PEOPLE ex rel. KERN, County Treasurer.¹

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Jan. 15, 1895.

Appeal from Cook county court; Frank Scales, Judge.

Petition of the people of the state of Illinois, on the relation of Charles Kern, county treasurer, and ex officio county collector, of Cook county, Ill., against Addie McCallum Gordon, for judgment for delinquent taxes and special assessments. Petitioner obtained judgment. Defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Mason Bros., for appellant.

H. R. Pebbles, for appellee.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the county court of Cook county rendered against appellant's lands on the application of the county collector for judgment against delinquent lands for the nonpayment of taxes and special assessment for the year 1893. Addie McCallum Gordon, the appellant, appeared in the county court, and objected to judgment against her lands for a special assessment ordered by the town of Cicero, upon the following ground: ‘The county court of Cook county never acquired jurisdiction of the person of this objector, nor of said lands, upon the entry of the judgment of confirmation of said special assessment, because the notices of the confirmation of said special assessment, by mailing, publication, and posting, were insufficient and otherwise invalid.’ On the hearing the court overruled the objection, and rendered judgment for the amount of the special assessment against appellant's lands.

CRAIG, J. (after stating the facts).

It is claimed by appellant that the affidavit of the commissioners, showing the mailing of notices to the owner where premises had been assessed, was insufficient to confer jurisdiction on the court to confirm the assessment. It appears from the record that notices of the hearing at the July term of the county court, beginning on the 10th day of July, 1893, were duly filed, as required by statute, and that like notice was published in a daily newspaper in Chicago for five successive days, as required by the act. But the affidavit of mailing notices purports to give a substantial copy of the notice mailed, which fails to state the year in which the July term to which the assessment roll had been returned occurred; and, on account of this supposed defect, it is claimed the court had no jurisdiction to enter a judgment of confirmation. We do not concur in this view. Section 28 of the cities and village act, which provides for proof of the notice, declares that ‘on or before the final hearing the affidavit of one or more of the commissioners shall be filed in said court, stating that they sent, or caused to be sent, by mail, to the owners whose premises have been assessed, and whose name and place of business are known to them, the notice hereinbefore required to be sent by mail to owners of premises assessed. * * * Such affidavit shall be considered as prima facie evidence of a compliance with the act in regard to giving such notice.’ Here the affidavit filed under this section of the statute contained the following: ‘This affiant, F. M. Hankinson, being duly sworn, upon oath says that affiant and Taylor A. Snow and D. J. McMahon were heretofore appointed by the county court of Cook county commissioners to assess the cost of a pipe sewer and house drains in Chicago avenue and other streets in town of Cicero, and that said commissioners did cause to be sent by mail to the owners whose premises have been assessed by said commissioners, and whose names and places of residence were known to them, or either of them, or upon diligent inquiry could be ascertained, the notice required by law to be sent by mail to the owners of premises assessed.’ This seems to contain all that the statute required, and, if the affidavit had contained nothing more, no objection could properly be urged against it. But, in addition to the above, ...