as fixed by this act. The county board is hereby fully empowered to select and appoint persons, where it may find the same necessary, to carry into effect the provisions of this section. OTHER DUTIES OF AUDITOR. of auditor. § 270. Whenever it shall come to the knowledge of the Other duties auditor that any county, township, city, district or town, or any well defined locality thereof, or any particular class of property therein, has heretofore been or may hereafter be released, from any cause whatever, from its just proportion of state taxes, said auditor shall cause suit to be commenced in an action of debt, in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, either against the municipality or against the property unjustly released from taxation, or the owners thereof, for the amount of such tax, in the supreme court of this state, in either division thereof; and when judgment may be recovered in any such case, the auditor shall levy a rate of tax on the equalized valuation of all property or particular class of property in such county, township, city, district, town or locality, as the case may be, as will pay the state the amount of such judgment and costs; and it shall be the duty of the county clerk of the proper county to extend such rate of tax with the state tax of the year directed in the auditor's certificate. Any county clerk neglecting or refusing to extend such rate, as certified to him by the auditor, shall be removed from his office, and in addition thereto shall be subject to a fine of five thousand dollars, and damages caused by such neglect or refusal, to be sued for by the auditor, in an action of debt, in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, in either division of the supreme court of this state: Provided, that in cases where the auditor and proper local authorities of the proper municipality can arrange to make such levy to reimburse the state in such cases, without suit, the auditor is hereby authorized to pursue such course. Anditor authorized to sel 8 271. The auditor is authorized to sell, transfer and convey, by deed, any and all real estate that may have been real estate. heretofore, or may be hereafter, purchased or taken in payment, to satisfy any judgment or any execution in favor of the state, by this state or by any officer of this state, for the benefit and use of the state, to any person or persons who may pay into the state treasury the full amount paid by the state for said property, including costs, and six per cent. interest thereon, from the date of said sale to the time of such payment: Provided, that the sale of the real estate, in part or in whole, may be made at such price, not less than the price paid for such part or whole of the property, as the case may be, as the judge of the county court, chairman of the county board, and the sheriff of the county in which Abstracts the estate is situated, shall certify the same to be worth; or, if not sold in one year from and after the expiration of the time of redemption now or hereafter allowed by law, said property may, if the auditor thinks the valuation fair, be sold by said auditor upon and for any valuation of said property which may be appraised and certified by the judge of the county court, chairman of the county board and sheriff of the county in which such property is situated. of § 272. On the first day of May in each year, or as soon land entered thereafter as practicable, the auditor shall obtain from the and located. United States land office in this state abstracts of the lands entered and located, and not previously obtained, and shall, at the same time, obtain from the Illinois Central railroad and canal offices abstracts of the Central railroad and canal lands sold. Upon the receipt of said abstracts, the auditor shall cause them to be transcribed into the tract books in his office, and shall, without delay, cause abstracts of the lands in each county,, including school lands reported to his office as having been sold, to be made out and forwarded. by mail to the county clerks of the several counties; and said clerks shall cause such abstracts to be transcribed into the tract book, and filed in their office. The expense of procuring and furnishing the abstracts required by this sec tion, shall be paid by the auditor out of the appropriation for the expenses of his office. § 273. It shall be the duty of the auditor to make out and forward to each county clerk, from time to time, for the use of such clerks and other officers, suitable forms and instructions; and all such instructions shall be strictly complied with by the officers in the performance of their respective duties. He shall give his opinion and advice on all questions of doubt as to the true intent and meaning of the provisions of this act. § 274. The auditor sball, as soon as practicable after the passage of this act, cause the same to be correctly printed in pamphlet form, and transmit to each county clerk a suflicient number of copies thereof for the use of the several county, town and district officers; and said clerk shall deliver the same to the proper officers. § 275. The county clerks of the several counties shall, annually, report to the auditor a list of the swamp and overflowed lands sold in their respective counties for the year ending on the first day of May, and the auditor shall enter the same in the tract books of his office. OMITTED PROPERTY-SAVING CLAUSES. 276. If any real or personal property shall be omitted in the assessment of any year or number of years, or the tax thereon, for which such property was liable, from any cause has not been paid, or if any such property, by reason of defective description or assessment thereof, shall fail to pay taxes for any year or years, in either case the same, when discovered, shall be listed and assessed by the assessor and placed on the assessment and tax books. The arrearages of tax which might have been assessed, with ten per cent. interest thereon, from the time the same ought to have been paid, shall be charged against such property by the county clerk. It shall be the duty of county clerks to add uncollected personal property tax to the tax of any subsequent year, whenever they may find the person owing such uncollected tax assessed for any subsequent year. ceedings. § 277. If the tax on any property, liable to taxation, is Erroneous proprevented from being collected for any year or years by reason of any erroneous proceedings or other cause, the amount of such tax which such property should have paid shall be added to the tax on such property for the next succeeding year. for $278. No such charge for tax and interest for previous Charges years, as provided for in the preceding section, shall be made previous years. against any property prior to the date of ownership of the person owning such property at the time the liability for such omitted tax was first ascertained: Provided, that the owner of property, if known, assessed under this and the preceding section, shall be notified by the assessor or clerk, as the case may require. assessments. $ 279. When any special assessment is not returned to Returns special the county collector on or before the first day of March next after it is due, the same may be returned on or before the first day of March in the succeeding year; and, if not then returned, it shall be considered barred, unless return is prevented by an injunction or order of court; and the time such return is thus prevented shall be excluded from the computation of such time. plete assessm`t. $280. A failure to complete an assessment in the time Failure to comrequired by this act shall not vitiate such assessment, but the same shall be as legal and valid as if completed in the time required by law. Informality in assessments. 281. No assessment of real or personal property, or charge for taxes thereon, shall be considered illegal on account of any informality in making the assessment, or in the tax lists, or on account of the assessments not being made or completed within the time required by law. 282. Any failure to deliver the collector's books with- Failure to dein the time required by this act, shall in no way affect the validity of the assessment and levy of taxes, but in all cases of such failure, the assessment and levy of taxes shall be held to be as valid and binding as if said books had been delivered at or within the time required by law. liver collectors' books. in wrong name. $283. No sale of real estate for taxes shall be considered Taxes charged invalid on account of the same baving been charged in any other name than that of the rightful owner. Who may administer oaths. WHO MAY ADMINISTER OATHS. $284. Any oath authorized to be administered under this act, may be administered by an assessor or deputy assessor, or by any other officer having authority to administer oaths. Penalties officers. PENALTIES OF OFFICERS. of 285. If any county clerk shall deliver the tax books into the hands of the county collector, or if any collector shall receive said books or collect any taxes until such collector's bond has been approved and filed, as required by this act, said clerk and collector, and each of then, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than five hundred dollars, and all damages and costs, to be recovered in an action of debt; and the auditor shall bring suit therefor, in the name of the People of the State of Illinois-the amount recovered on such fines to be paid into the state treasury as revenue fund. Nothing in this section shall be construed as relieving the securities of a collector from liabilities incurred under a bond not approved and filed by the auditor. § 286. If any collector shall, by his own neglect, fail to obtain judgment at the May term of the county court, or shall fail to present his list of delinquencies on personal property, or errors in assessment of real estate, at the time required by this act, he shall lose the benefit of any abatement to which he might have been entitled, and shall pay to the state and county the full amount charged against him, after deducting the fees allowed by this act for collecting and paying over taxes. If the county court is not held at the May term, the collector shall have further time to pay over the amount due on the delinquent list. § 287. If any officer shall fail or neglect to perform any of the duties required of him by this act, upon being required so to do by any person interested in the matter, he shall be liable to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, to be recovered in an ction of debt in the circuit court of the proper county, and may be removed from office at the discretion of the court; and any officer who shall knowingly violate any of the provisions of this act, shall be liable to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, to be recovered in an action of debt, in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, in any court having jurisdiction, and may be re moved from office at the discretion of the court, and said fines, when recovered, shall be paid into the county treaBury. $288. Every county clerk, assessor, collector or other officer who shall in any case refuse or knowingly neglect to perform any duty enjoined upon him by this act, or who shall consent to or connive at any evasion of its provisions, whereby any proceeding required by this act shall be prevented or hindered, or whereby any property required to be listed for taxatiou shall be unlawfully exempted, or the same be entered upon the tax list at less than its fair cash value, shall, for every such offense, neglect or refusal, be liable, on the complaint of any person, for double the amount of the loss or dainage caused thereby, to be recovered in an action of debt, in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, in any court having jurisdiction, and may be removed from his office at the discretion of the court. COUNTY TO FURNISH BOOKS AND BLANKS. nish books and blanks. $289. The county board shall direct the county clerk County to furto procure all necessary books and blanks required by this act to be used in the assessment of property and collection of taxes, at the expense of the county. COUNTY FUNDS-MANNER OF KEEPING ACCOUNTS THEREOF. $290. The county collector shall, on the first of every county fund. month, report to the county clerk, in writing, the amount of county tax received by him during the preceding month, showing what amount of said tax was received in money, and what amount in county orders and jury certificates. The county collector shall keep his account as collector of taxes separate from his account as county treasurer. He shall credit his account as collector with the amount of his monthly reports to the county clerk, and with the amount of insolvencies, removals, errors, forfeitures, and other credits allowed him on settlement with the county board; and as county treasurer he shall charge himself with the amount shown in his monthly report to the county clerk, as aforesaid, and such other amounts as may come into his hands as county treasurer; and he shall, as such treasurer, at the close of each month, cancel the county orders and jury certificates in his hands, and return the same with a descriptive list, giving numbers and amounts properly footed, to the county clerk, who shall carefully compare and file the same in his office, subject to the order of the county board, and give the treasurer a receipt for the same; which receipt shall be the evidence upon which the county treasurer shall take credit in his accounts as such treasurer, with the county, subject to the approval of the county board. The county board shall examine such account and vouchers. at such time or times, by committee or otherwise, as may be deemed requisite. Manner keep 8 291. Each county clerk shall keep an account with the county collector, charging him with the amount of ing accounts. |