|
The Constitution of 1818 provided for the
appointment of an Attorney General by the General Assembly and
legislation subsequently was passed in 1819 defining the officer's
duties (L. 1819, p. 204). He was to prosecute all suits on behalf of
the state including those involving the state's revenue and all
impeachments brought before the Senate or Supreme Court. He also was
required to give written opinions to the Governor, Auditor of Public
Accounts, or State Treasurer, when requested, on all questions of
law relating to the public concerns of the state. The same
legislation also provided for the appointment of circuit attorneys
in three of the state's four judicial circuits and designated the
Attorney General to act as the circuit attorney in the fourth
circuit.
During the first constitutional period the
Attorney General was appointed by a joint vote of the General
Assembly. The term of appointment was four years until 1833 when it
was reduced to two years (Rev. L. 1833, p. 103). The office was
eliminated under the 1848 Constitution which omitted all references
to the Attorney General.
The State of Illinois operated without an Attorney
General for nineteen years until the office was recreated by an act
of 1867 (L. 1867, p. 46). Under this act the Attorney General was
popularly elected, again for a four-year term. His principal duties
were to advise the Governor and other executive officers of the
state, including the state's attorneys, and to give them written
opinions on all legal questions relating to the rights, powers, and
duties of these officers. Written opinions also were to be given to
both houses of the General Assembly and to their committees on
constitutional or legal questions. In addition the Attorney General
was to institute, prosecute, or defend in the courts of the United
States or the State of Illinois all actions, suits, or complaints in
which the state was interested.
While the Constitutions of 1870 and 1970 retained
these basic duties of the Attorney General specific legislation
further has defined the Attorney General's responsibilities as the
state's chief legal officer. In 1872 he was directed to defend all
actions and proceedings against any state officer, prepare proper
drafts for contracts, and enforce proper application of funds
appropriated to state institutions (L. 1871, p. 189). He later
became responsible for approving titles to lands acquired by the
state and was to appear for and represent the interests of the state
in all matters before the Court of Claims (L. 1917, p. 325). For
1919-1934 the Attorney General enforced the alcoholic liquor
prohibition laws of the state (L. 1919, p. 930; L. 1921, p. 681;
repealed L. 1933, 2d Spec. Sess., p. 57).
The Attorney General's other assigned duties have
included the authority to institute prosecutions under anti-trust
laws starting in 1891 (L. 1891, p. 206; L. 1965, p. 1943); the
enforcement of regulations relating to life insurance companies
until the responsibility was transferred to the Superintendent of
Insurance (L. 1887, p. 202; L. 1899, p. 256); and the institution of
court proceedings for the dissolution of corporations since 1893,
except for the period 1899-1917 when articles of incorporation were
canceled solely by the Secretary of State (L. 1893, p. 89; L. 1899,
p.111; L. 1917, p. 292). The Attorney General also became
responsible for enforcing the inheritance and gift tax laws in 1909
(L. 1909, p. 311) and for giving written approval to the opening of
safety deposit boxes of deceased persons in 1941 (L. 1941, vol. 1,
p. 1279). An act passed in 1943 directed the Attorney General to
enforce racial anti-discrimination acts, creating a division within
his office to investigate all violations of laws relating to civil
rights, and undertake necessary enforcement measures to prevent
discrimination (L. 1943, vol. 1, p. 210).
108.001
CORRESPONDENCE. 1889. 1
vol. No index.
Incoming correspondence principally from county
and other local officials, especially state's attorneys, primarily
concerns requests for Attorney General's opinion on various matters
including eligibility of individual to hold one or more local
offices, qualifications of voters in city elections, legality of
assessments, and ownership of school land.
These records are available at the Illinois State
Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
|
