Each school district of less than 1,000 inhabitants elects a board of three school directors. Each district of more than 1,000 inhabitants elects a board of education, consisting of a president and six members, and three additional members for each additional 10,000 inhabitants to a maximum of 15 members. There are 35 districts with boards of seven members, and 5 districts with boards of ten members each. In each high school district there is elected a high school board of education of five to seven members. In the non-high school district there is a board of three elected members, and the county superintendent of schools, who is ex-officio a member and secretary, but with no vote. The board in the non-high school district has for its only function to levy a tax to pay the tuition of residents of the district attending any recognized high school. As noted in connection with the towns, each of the 28 school townships outside of Chicago elects three school trustees. School trustees in school townships co-terminous with towns are elected at the annual town meeting. In other school townships they are elected on the second Saturday in April, which is also the date for electing high school boards of education. Boards of school directors and boards of education are elected on the third Saturday of April. The elective district school officers in Cook County are shown. below: 140 Boards of 3 School Directors... 35 Boards of Education, 7 each. 5 Boards of Education, 10 each. .420 .245 50 83 3 801 Library Boards. In addition to the Chicago Public Library, there are public libraries in 4 cities, 1 township and 13 villages in Cook County-a total of 18 library boards in Cook County outside of Chicago. There are also public libraries and library boards in the city of Elgin and the Village of Hinsdale, small parts of which are in Cook County. The city library boards consist of nine members, appointed by the mayor with the consent of the city council. Village and township library boards have six members, elected by popular vote. Library taxes in cities are levied by the city council, but library taxes for both cities and villages are levied outside of the regular city and village tax; and the library boards have exclusive control over the libraries and their funds. Bloom Township Elgin City Evanston City Harvey City Park Ridge City Public Libraries in Cook County. Brookfield Village Maywood Village Winnetka Village The six city boards have a total of 54 members; the fifteen village and township boards aggregate 90 elected members. Drainage Districts. A considerable number of drainage districts have been organized in Cook County, under the various provisions of the drainage laws. Owing to the different and complicated methods for organizing such districts it is difficult to secure a complete list; and it is still more difficult to determine what districts are still in active operation. In the report on. Water Resources of Illinois, prepared and published for the Illinois Rivers and Lakes Commission in 1914, there is given a list of drainage districts in the state, which includes 13 in Cook County. A summary table for 10 districts with a total area of 16,406 acres, showed that 391⁄2 miles of open ditch had been constructed and 4 miles of tile laid, with total assessments of $158,817. Inquiries made in the summer of 1919 at the county offices, and to town clerks, drainage commissioners and other sources, have secured information of the following 27 drainage districts in Cook County: Addison Creek Drainage District Proviso and Leyden townships.. Buffalo Creek Drainage District Wheeling and Palatine townships Elk Grove township. Drainage District No. 1. New Trier township, Drainage District No. 1. Niles township, Drainage District No. 2. North Creek Drainage District Thornton and Bloom townships. Palatine township, Drainage District Palatine and Barrington Rich township Drainage District No. 2. 12,000 acres 2,500 acres 500 acres 328 acres 190 acres 830 acres 833 acres 900 acres 1,600 acres 19,000 acres 1.107 acres 1,200 acres Salt Creek Drainage District Palatine township and DuPage County Union Drainage District No. 1 Northfield and Deerfield township (Cook and Will Counties).. 6,000 acres Union Drainage District No. 1 of Rich and Frankfort townships (Cook and Lake Counties) 2,500 acres Union Drainage District No. 3 of Orland township and No. 2 of Union Drainage District No. 6 of Orland township and Frankfort 3.000 acres Weller Creek Drairage District: Palatine townships Wheeling, Elk Grove, Maine and 12.000 acres 1.600 acres Westmoreland Drainage District: Niles and New Trier townships Wheeling Drainage District: Wheeling, Palatine and Elk Grove townships and Lake Co.. 5,000 acres Four of these drainage districts are within the Sanitary District of Chicago-the New Trier district, Niles district No. 2. Westmoreland district, and the Northfield-Deerfield district. For each drainage district organized under the act of 1879, three drainage commissioners are appointed by the county court. For each district organized under the act of 1885, there are three commissioners, one elected each year for a term of three years. Congressional and Legislative Districts. In addition to the numerous governments for local purposes, Chicago and Cook County are also divided into districts for the election of members of Congress and of the General Assembly. There are 6 congressional districts entirely within the city of Chicago, and 4 others partly in Chicago and partly in Cook County outside of the city, one district also including Lake County. There are 14 senatorial districts, for the election of state senators and representatives in the city of Chicago, and five others in Cook County, four of the latter being partly in the city and partly outside. The boundaries of these congressional and legislative districts. do not correspond with each other, nor with the ward lines for the election of aldermen, nor with any of the local government areas. These add further to the complexities of the political and governmental situation and to the problems of the voters on election day. The Voter's Burden. In the table below is summarized the data as to the burden placed on the voter by the enormous number of public officials elected in connection with the numerous and overlapping governmental bodies in Chicago and Cook County. There is an aggregate of 2,557 officials voted for in Cook County, of which 417 are within the City of Chicago, and 1,610 within the Sanitary District. Each male elector in Chicago is expected to vote in a brief series of years for 178 different officials, and in some parts of the city the number is 187. In other cities and in villages in Cook County each male elector is expected to vote for from 172 to 197 different officials. At the presidential election in November, 1916, each male elector in Chicago was expected to vote for 71 different officials, including presidential electors; and at the general election in November, 1918, for 55 different officials. Male electors in Cook County outside of Chicago were asked to vote for 61 different officials at the presidential election in November, 1916, and for 35 at the general election in November, 1918. Other officials are elected at city, village, township, school and judicial elections held at various times from March to September. Including primary elections there are in Chicago seven elections in presidential years; and in other cities and in villages there are from eight to ten elections in such years. III. PROPOSALS FOR UNIFICATION. Constitutional Convention of 1870. In the constitutional convention of 1869-70, some attention was given to proposals for authorizing large cities to be formed into separate counties. Early in the convention (on January 13, 1870) Mr. E. M. Haines of Lake County introduced a resolution, which was referred to the Committee on Counties as follows: "Resolved that cities containing a population exceeding 300,000 may be erected into a county.”1 On the next day, Mr. Cameron of Cook County introduced a counter resolution, in opposition to that of Mr. Haines, which he considered presented "a pernicious principle", as follows:2 "Resolved that no township in any county shall be transferred from one county to another without the assent of a majority of the voters of said township". Later Mr. Cameron presented several petitions from towns in Cook County opposing any change in county boundaries; and stated that the Cook County delegation was opposed to any change. 3 3 A minority report was presented by Mr. Abbott of the Committee on Counties, to authorize the formation of new counties with the consent of two-thirds of the voters of the proposed county, without requiring the consent of the county from which it would be detached. In Committe of the whole (April 18) this was not agreed to. Several amendments to authorize the transfer of parts of counties, without the consent of the county from which they would be detached, were also defeated. * 4 Somewhat later (April 27, 1870) when the article on counties was being considered in the convention, Mr. Turner of Stephenson County proposed an amendment to section 1, which was agreed to without debate by a vote of 26 to 18, as follows: "But any city having a population of 200,000 or more may be organized into a separate county." 5 On the next day, Mr. Turner moved to reconsider this amendment, because of objections from Cook County members; but the motion was held out of order, and it was suggested that the matter could be taken up later. Mr. Anthony of Cook County objected to the amendment, as not wanted in Cook County and likely to cause trouble. Mr. Haines of Lake County spoke in favor of the amendment." The day following, at the end of the convention debate on the article on counties, Mr. Skinner of the 28th district (Adams County, 1 Proceedings and Debates, I, 180. Proceedings and Debates, I, 192. 3 Proceedings and Debates, I, 306, 851. 4 Proceedings and Debates I, 307; II, 1325-28. Proceedings and Debates II, 1521. Proceedings and Debates II, 1535-36. |