DRAINAGE. § 1. ABANDONMENT. Amends section 44, Act of 1879. § 44. Petition for abandonment. (SENATE BILL No. 422. FILED JULY 6, 1923.) AN ACT to amend section forty-four of an Act entitled, "An Act to provide for the construction, reparation and protection of drains, ditches and levees across the lands of others, for agricultural, sanitary and mining purposes, and to provide for the organization of drainage districts," approved and in force May 29, 1879, as subsequently amended. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: That section forty-four of an Act entitled, "An Act to provide for the construction, reparation and protection of drains, ditches and levees across the lands of others for agricultural, sanitary and mining purposes, and to provide for the organization of drainage districts," approved and in force May 29, 1879, as amended, be amended to read as follows: § 44. At any time before the contract shall have been made for the construction of any drain, ditch, levee or other work provided for in the report of the commissioners, or the order of the court made in pursuance thereof, which is sought to be abandoned as hereinafter provided, upon petition of the majority of the adult land owners of the district representing one-third of its area, the County Court may, if upon due inquiry it shall be satisfied that justice towards all the land owners of said district requires it, direct the commissioners to abandon any drain, ditch, levee or other work, or any part thereof mentioned in such report or order. Upon the filing of any such petition it shall be set down for hearing by the court, and notices of the filing of such petition, and of the general nature of the relief sought by the petitioners, shall be given by the clerk of the court in which such petition is filed for the length of time and in the manner (so far as applicable to the nature of the proceedings) required by section three (3) of the Act to which this is an amendment. The court may, for good cause, after proof of notice, as aforesaid, continue the hearing of such application from time to time, and any person or persons interested may appear and resist such application; and the court, after a full hearing of all material facts pertaining thereto, may make such order in the premises as shall appear to the court to be just. If the court shall determine that any portion of the proposed work shall be abandoned, it shall ascertain to what extent the cost of such proposed work shall be diminished thereby; and if the assessments for benefits shall have been made, such portion of said assessments shall be abated in such uniform proportion as such change of plans shall render unnecessary for the completion of such works according to such modified or altered plans, and if any lands shall have been assessed by the commissioners which, on account of such change of plans, will be wholly deprived of the benefits contemplated in the original plans, the court shall order that the entire assessments against such lands be abated. If such order shall be made after the assessments shall have been collected, the court shall order such proportion of said assessments as may be abated to be refunded to the persons who may have paid the same or their lawful representatives, and for non-compliance with such order the commissioners and the treasurer of said istrict, respectively, and their sureties shall be liable upon their respective bonds. And the court may make any other or further order in pursuance of the objects of this section of this Act, as justice to all persons whose interests may be affected by it may require. And at any time before the contract for the construction of the proposed works shall have been made, upon presentation to the County Court of a petition signed by a majority in number of all the land owners of such district, and owning more than one-half in area of the lands in the district to which the petitioners belong, praying that the whole system of proposed works may be abandoned and the district abolished, the court shall enter upon its record an order granting the prayer of such petition, upon condition that an assessment be levied by the court against all the lands of the district with which funds the commissioners under order of the court shall pay charges and expenses incurred in the matter of organization of such district up to the time of entering of such order by the court, as the court shall deem just and equitable including court costs, within thirty (30) days from the rendition of such order. If such petitioners fail to comply with such order, it shall be considered after the expiration of said thirty (30) days as of no force and effect whatever. If the district be abolished under this section, assessments that shall have been collected shall be refunded to the persons who have paid the same, or their lawful representatives. Provided, that the petitioners shall have the right to withdraw from said petition upon the same grounds and in the same manner as is provided by section four (4) of the Act to which this Act is an amendment. All of the provisions of this Act shall apply, as far as the same can be applied, to all drainage districts heretofore organized under the jurisdiction of justices of the peace, in pursuance of the provisions of the Act to which this Act is an amendment. FILED July 6, 1923. The Governor having failed to return this bill to the General Asesmbly during its session, the General Assembly having adjourned sine die on June 30, 1923, and he having filed the same in my office on this date without signature or objections, it has therefore become a law. Witness my hand this 6th day of July, A. D. 1923. LOUIS L. EMMERSON, Secretary of State. ADDITIONAL DITCHES. § 1. Amends section 59, Act of 1879. § 59. Constructing additional ditches. (HOUSE BILL No. 674. APPROVED JUNE 30, 1923.) AN ACT to amend an Act entitled, "An Act to provide for the construction, reparation and protection of drains, ditches and levees across the lands of others, for agricultural, sanitary and mining purposes, and to provide for the organization of drainage districts." (Approved May 29, 1879, in force May 29, 1879) as subsequently amended, by amending section 59 thereof. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: SECTION 1. That an Act entitled, "An Act to provide for the construction, reparation and protection of drains, ditches and levees. across the lands of others, for agricultural, sanitary and mining purposes, and to provide for the organization of drainage districts," (approved May 29, 1879, in force May 29, 1879) as subsequently amended, be and the same is hereby amended by amending section 59 of said Act, as amended, to read as follows: § 59. If, after an assessment of lands throughout the district has been made for the purpose of constructing drains or ditches, or enlarging or repairing the main drains or ditches of said district, according to the profiles, plans and specifications of the commissioners, as reported and confirmed, there remain lands in particular localities in any original district which are in need of more minute and complete drainage, and it shall appear to the commissioners that, in their judgment, additional ditches, drains, outlets, levees, pumping plants or other work are needed in order to afford more complete drainage, they may prepare a special report as hereinafter provided, and file the same and organize a sub-district in the manner hereinafter set forth without the necessity of a petition of the landowners therefor, and in all cases where, upon written application to the commissioners signed by a majority in number of the adult landowners in such locality owning in the aggregate more than one-third of the land affected, or by the adult land owners of a major part of the land in such locality who constitute one-third or more of the owners of the land affected, it shall appear that additional ditches, drains, outlets, levees, pumping plants or other work are necessary in order to afford more complete drainage to such locality, it shall be the duty of such commissioners to examine such lands, and lay off and make plans, profiles and specifications of such additional work, and an estimate of the cost of the same and made a special report thereof, which special report, whether filed on petition of the landowners or not, shall describe all of the lands which will be either benefitted or damaged by such additional work, together with the names of the owners, when known; and said commissioners may use any money in their hands, not otherwise appropriated, to pay the necessary expenses of preparing said special report: Provided, said sum to be expended shall, in no case, exceed the sum of $500.00; the special report, when prepared by the commissioners, shall be filed with the clerk of the County Court, and the commissioners shall give to all persons whose lands will be either benefited or damaged, whether they signed an application for additional work or not, three weeks' notice of the filing and hearing of such report in the manner required by section three (3) of this Act; said notice shall state that the commissioners will appear before the County Court at a day mentioned in said notice, and ask said court for a confirmation of such special report; and upon said hearing, the court shall pass upon said report and may permit the same to be amended, and if said report is confirmed and approved by the court, a special assessment of benefits and damages shall be made upon all the lands benefited or damaged by the proposed work, in the manner provided for the making of the original assessments of the benefits and damages by this Act; and like proceedings shall be had thereon as in other cases and assessments of benefits and damages provided by this Act; and said commissioners shall have the power to cause to be made additional assessment of benefits and damages for the same purposes and with like proceedings as in cases of additional assessment of benefits and damages made for original districts under this Act; and the said commissioners may cause to be levied an assessment of annual benefits in said sub-district in the same manner as annual benefits are levied in original districts under this Act: Provided, that if said sub-district does not own or operate a pumping plant, such annual benefits shall not, in any one year, amount to more in the aggregate than a sum which would be produced by a levy of thirty cents per acre on all the lands within said sub-district. The affidavit of any of the commissioners, or any other creditable person, of the posting and mailing thereof affixed to a copy of said notice, shall be sufficient evidence of the posting and mailing of said notices, and the certificate of the publisher of the newspaper in which said notice was published shall be sufficient evidence of the publication of such notice. Upon confirmation of said special report by the court, it shall be the duty of the court to declare all the lands found to be affected by the work proposed by said special report to be organized into a subdistrict, and all assessments received and collected in such sub-district, for the work of such sub-districts, shall be kept as a separate fund belonging to such sub-district, and said commissioners shall have the power, if necessary, to issue bonds against any assessment or assessments in said sub-district in the same manner as bonds are issued in original districts. The commissioners of the principal district shall be er officio commissioners of the sub-district. Any lands lying outside of any sub-district as organized, the owner or owners of which shall thereafter make connections with any ditch or drain within any sub-district, or whose lands are or will be benefited by the work of such sub-district, shall be deemed to have made voluntary application to be included in such sub-district, and thereupon the commissioners shall make complaint as provided in section 58 of this Act as to lands lying outside of a drainage district as organized, and like proceedings shall be made thereon as in cases of complaints made under said section 58. APPROVED June 30, 1923. DREDGE BOATS. § 1. Commissioners may purchase and operate. (SENATE BILL No. 73. APPROVED JUNE 26, 1923.) AN ACT to authorize drainage districts and special drainage districts to acquire, maintain and operate dredge boats and other necessary equipment for the construction and preservation of drains and ditches. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: That whenever the drainage commissioners of any drainage district or special drainage district, heretofore or hereafter organized under an Act "An Act to provide for drainage for agricultural and sanitary purposes and to repeal certain Acts therein named", approved June 27, 1885, in force July 1, 1885, shall deem it necessary for such drainage districts or special drainage districts to own, maintain and operate one or more dredge boats and other necessary equipment for the construction and preservation of its drains and ditches, they may with the approval thereof by the County Court of the county in which the drainage district or special drainage district thereof was organized, purchase or build, and maintain and operate one or more dredge boats and other necessary equipment for the purposes aforesaid, and pay for the same out of any funds of said drainage district or special drainage district arising from any special assessment heretofore or hereafter levied for the construction and maintenance of a system of drains and ditches of such drainage district or special drainage district. APPROVED June 26, 1923. ELGIN SANITARY DISTRICT. § 1. Description-Payment of $3,950 required-Issuing of patent. (HOUSE BILL No. 54. § 2. Rights reserved by State. APPROVED JUNE 9, 1923.) AN ACT to provide for the transfer of certain lands by the State of Illinois to the Sanitary District of Elgin. WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is the owner of and holds for the benefit of the Elgin State Hospital at Elgin, Illinois, nineteen and seventy-five one hundredths (19.75) acres of land hereinafter described which lies in Kane County and which is not being used by the State of Illinois; and, WHEREAS, Said lands is of no value to the Elgin State Hospital because the Fox River separates it from said hospital and there is no access to it from said hospital and the land is not susceptible of cultivation; and, |