City of Springfield v. Gillespie

167 N.E. 61, 335 Ill. 388
Illinois Supreme Court·Decided June 19, 1929·No. No. 19298. Judgment affirmed.·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Mr. Justice DeYoung

delivered the opinion of the court:

The council of the city of Springfield passed an ordinance for the grading, curbing and paving of a portion of the east roadway of Noble avenue, in that city. A petition for the levy of a special assessment for the cost of the proposed improvement was filed in the county court of Sangamon county. Objections to the assessment were interposed by George B. Gillespie. His objections were overruled and the assessment was confirmed. Erom the judgment of confirmation Gillespie prosecutes this appeal.

Noble avenue, in the city of Springfield, is a street approximately 125 feet wide between property lines and runs south from South Grand avenue. The street includes two roadways, and between these roadways is a strip of ground 25 feet wide, occupied for a portion of its width by a single street railway track of the Illinois Power Company. The west roadway -is paved. The improvement of the east roadway will extend from South Grand avenue south to Laurel street, a distance of two blocks. Appellant owns a parcel of land situated at the southeast corner of South Grand and Noble avenues. The land is vacant and has a frontage of 141^ feet on the former and of 200 feet on the latter street. The district is a residential one, and Washington Park, one of the largest in the city, lies directly to the north of appellant’s land. The city engineer estimated the cost of the improvement at $17,368.89. Of this sum $15,641.02 was assessed upon private property, and the balance, $1727.87, as public benefits. The assessment was made payable in ten annual installments. The total assessment upon appellant’s property was $2151. The 25-foot strip in the center of Noble avenue, occupied in part by the street railway track of the Illinois Power Company, was not assessed.

At the time of the passage of the ordinance for the construction of the improvement a general ordinance of the city of Springfield provided that when any street upon which a street railroad track was laid or used should be ordered paved, it would be the duty of the railroad company to pave all that portion of the street included in the space between the rails of its track or tracks, and for one foot beyond the outer edge of the rails, in the manner that the remaining portions of the street were to be paved or in such other manner and with such other materials as might be required by ordinance; that in case of default on the part of the company the city council might cause the track or tracks to be removed and the pavement to be laid, and in such case the company would be liable to the city for the cost and expense of such paving, with lawful interest thereon from the completion of the work; and that upon the company’s failure or refusal to pay such cost, with interest, the same might be recovered by suit in any court of competent jurisdiction.

By an ordinance passed September 15, 1924, and subsequently accepted by the Illinois Power Company, authority was granted that company, its successors and assigns, to maintain and operate an electric street railway upon certain streets in the city of Springfield, including, among others, Noble avenue from South Grand avenue to Laurel street. This ordinance required the company, whenever a street upon which it operated its street railway was paved, to construct with like material, and to maintain in good condition, the pavement between its rails and tracks and for the space of one foot outside its outer rails. Failure to comply with this provision for two weeks after the receipt of written notice authorized the city to cause the pavement to be constructed or repaired, and in that event the company would be required forthwith to reimburse the city the actual cost of the work, plus ten per cent of such cost. The company further agreed to dedicate as a public highway, subject to an easement for a right of way for street railway purposes, a strip of ground in the center of Noble avenue from South Grand avenue to Laurel street, title to which was held by the company. By its deed dated December 22, 1925, and filed in the office of the recorder of deeds of Sangamon county, the Illinois Power Company dedicated this strip, 25 feet wide, to the public for the uses and purposes of a street or public highway, reserving to itself, however, the easement specified. The company now operates its street railway in Noble avenue, between the intersecting streets designated, by virtue of the ordinance of September 15, 1924.

Appellee offered in evidence the recommendation of the board of local improvements, the city engineer’s estimate of cost, the ordinance providing for the construction of the improvement, and the amended assessment roll. It was stipulated that appellant, if present, would testify that in his opinion the fair cash market value of the easement and right of way of the Illinois Power Company in Noble avenue would be materially increased by the construction of the proposed improvement. To this testimony appellee objected that the ordinance granting authority to the company to operate its street railway constituted a contract between the city and the company, and that this ordinance, and the general ordinance concerning paving by street railroad compañíes, fixed and determined the company’s duty and obligation with respect to the paving of its right of way.

On the question of benefits four witnesses testified in behalf of appellant. They valued appellant’s parcel of land from $6000 to $7000, and in their opinions the contemplated improvement, when completed, would increase its value from $500 to $800. Appellee called four witnesses in rebuttal. They testified that appellant’s land was worth from $7000 to $8000 and that it would be benefited by the improvement from $2000 to $2500.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

City of Springfield v. Gillespie, 167 N.E. 61, 335 Ill. 388 (Ill. 1929).

167 N.E. 61 (City of Springfield v. Gillespie) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Kansas City Southern Railroad v. City of Deridder
206 So. 2d 562 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1968)
Village of Northbrook v. Steerup
158 N.E.2d 630 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1959)
The People v. Chicago Rys. Co.
15 N.E.2d 705 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1938)
Illinois Power & Light Corp. v. City of Centralia, Ill.
11 F. Supp. 874 (E.D. Illinois, 1935)