Green v. Black

186 N.E. 462, 352 Ill. 623
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedJune 16, 1933
DocketNo. 21355. Decree affirmed.
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 186 N.E. 462 (Green v. Black) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Green v. Black, 186 N.E. 462, 352 Ill. 623 (Ill. 1933).

Opinions

Mr. Justice Stone

delivered the opinion of the court:

Appellant filed a bill in the superior court of Cook county seeking to restrain General Carlos E. Black, Adjutant General of the State, Charles C. Dawes, Francis M. Allen and Thomas S. Hammond, commanding officers in the State militia of this State, from the use, other than by deposit in the State treasury, of such moneys as were derived from the rentals of certain State armories located in the city of Chicago. Allen and Hammond were dismissed as defendants. Black and Dawes demurred to the bill. The demurrer was sustained and the bill was dismissed for want of equity. The cause is here on appeal.

The bill sets out the maintenance of the various armories as property of the State and alleges that the Adjutant General has general supervision over the armories; that the Broadway armory, located at 5815 Broadway, in the city of Chicago, is under the immediate supervision of Charles C. Dawes; that it has been, and is from time to time, rented to various organizations for purposes not having to do with the training of the National Guard; -that during the past seven years the rentals therefrom have aggregated $24,000, and that other funds have been derived from that property as rentals, the amount of which the complainant is not advised. The bill also alleges that the rents so derived are not deposited in the State treasury but are kept by the officer in command of the armory, with the knowledge of the Adjutant General, in bank accounts designated as the “Armory or regimental fund;” that such rentals belong to the State and should be paid into the State treasury, and that there was no authority for depositing them otherwise.

Appellees, in support of their demurrer, invoke section 3JÍ of article 18 of the military and naval code of this State. (Cahill’s Stat. 1931, p. 2669; Smith’s Stat. 1931, p. 2826.) Section 3J2 reads as follows: “Subject to such reasonable regulations as may be promulgated by the Adjutant General, the use of armories may be permitted for any reasonable and legitimate civilian activities so long as such activities do not interfere with their use for military purposes. Any proceeds received in any armory above the expenses incident to such use may be placed in an armory fund and used for recruiting, athletic and recreational activities and other purposes in the interest and for the benefit of the members of the company or companies at the particular armory.” This section was enacted by the legislature in 1931 as an addition to an act entitled “An act to authorize the erection of an armory at Chicago, Illinois, for the use of naval forces of the State of Illinois and making an appropriation therefor,” approved June 29, 1927.

Appellant argues that under the constitution all rentals arising from such armories must be deposited in the State treasury and can be withdrawn therefrom only in pursuance of appropriations made by law, and then only on warrants issued against the appropriation by the State Auditor of Public Accounts, and since this is so, section 3 Ji violates these constitutional requirements and is void. The parts of the constitution against which it is said this act offends are article 3, section 17 of article 4 and section 23 of article 5. The argument is that there is provided but one depository for public moneys and that is tire State treasury, and that all public funds must be deposited there, and that as the rentals of armories are revenues from the property of the State they are State revenues, and in contemplation of the law are money in the State treasury and must be there deposited. No section of the constitution in express terms requires that this be done, and cases cited by appellant do not support his contention that by implication arising from the language of the constitution such duty exists.

Section 1 of article 5 creates the office of State Treasurer and prescribes his duties. Section 7 of article 9 requires that all taxes levied for State purposes shall be paid into the State treasury. Section 23 of article 5 provides that all fees payable by law for any services performed by an officer, as provided in article 5, shall be paid in advance into the State treasury. These are the only constitutional provisions which directly impose any duties on the State Treasurer or deal with the payment of State funds into the State treasury. When State money has once been received by the State Treasurer, section 17 of article 4 of the constitution prevents its withdrawal except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law and on the presentation of a warrant issued by the Auditor of Public Accounts. (People v. Russel, 311 Ill. 96.) The constitutional provisions relied upon by the appellant refer only to the means of withdrawing public funds from the State treasury or the payment thereinto of fees of State officers or taxes. (People v. Lippincott, 65 Ill. 548; People v. Miner, 46 id. 384.) The provisions relied upon by appellant do not, nor > do any other provisions of the constitution, require the payment into the State treasury of moneys paid for the use of State armories by civilians or private organizations. The General Assembly has control of the revenues and finances of the State, restricted only by constitutional provisions. The General Assembly may provide, as to revenues other than State taxes and the fees of State officers, that when such revenues are collected they may be appropriated to a use specified in the act. Such is, in effect, an appropriation of such revenues to the purpose so specified and amounts to a declaration that such revenues are not to be paid into the State treasury.

The question then arises, Has the legislature determined that funds arising from tire rental of these armories shall be deposited otherwise than in the State treasury and used in a manner other than through legislative appropriations and warrants of the Auditor of Public Accounts? The language is, as we have seen, that the proceeds from such rental above expenses incident to such use may be placed in an armory fund and used for recruiting, athletic and recreational activities and other purposes in the interest and for the benefit of the members of the company at the particular armory from which the rentals have accrued. Counsel urge that statutory provisions require the deposit of these funds in the State treasury, and that section 3^ was not designed or intended by the legislature to amend or change such statutory provisions. They point to section 7 of the act relating to the State treasurer, approved April 23, 1873, (Cahill’s Stat. 1931, p. 2682,) which declares that the State Treasurer shall receive the revenues and all other public moneys of the State, and section 2 of an act in relation to the payment of public money into the State treasury, enacted in 1911, (Cahill’s Stat. 1931, p. 2638,) which provides that it shall be the duty of every officer, board, commission, commissioner, department, institution, arm or agency of the executive department of the State government, the University of Illinois excepted, to pay into the State treasury without delay, and in any event within thirty days, the gross amount of money received for or on behalf of the State, without any deduction on account of fees, salaries, costs, expenses or claims.

In construing a statute the purpose of the act is to be kept in mind and the words used are to be liberally construed to that end. (People v. Harrison, 191 Ill. 257; Smith’s Stat. 1931, chap. 131, sec.

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Bluebook (online)
186 N.E. 462, 352 Ill. 623, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/green-v-black-ill-1933.