Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/197

 ILLINOIS 189 Included in the valuations of personal property for 1873 is $20,826,462 assessed as valuation on corporations other than railroads. It will be noticed that the valuations for 1873 are largely in excess of any previous year ; these results, however, do not represent a corre- sponding increase in the value of property, but are attributed in a large measure to the opera- tions of a new revenue law. The valuations for 1873 are believed to be about - 65 per cent, of the cash value of real and personal property, and still nearer the entire value of railroad property. The charitable and correctional in- stitutions are under the general supervision of the board of state commissioners of public charities, consisting of five members appoint- ed by the governor with the consent of the senate, whose duty it is annually to inspect the state institutions nnder their charge, to- gether with the various county jails and alms- houses, and report upon their condition. The statistics showing the extent and condition of the correctional, charitable, and educational institutions of the state are generally for 1872, the date of the -most recent biennial reports. The state penitentiary, which has been at Joliet since 1859, was organized in 1827, and at the beginning of 1873 contained 1,255 convicts, the average number for the year being 1,283. It has recently become self-sustaining under the system of leasing the labor of the convicts; the total earnings in 1872 were $214,593, while the expenses were $36,218 less. Instruction is afforded to the inmates, and there is a li- brary of about 4,000 volumes. The reform school at Pontiac, opened in 1871, has accom- modations for about 150 inmates, which are inadequate to the needs of the state. About 900 pupils have been admitted to the institu- tion for the education of the deaf and dumb at Jacksonville since its opening in 1845, and about 300 were receiving instruction from 16 instructors at the beginning of 1874. The course of instruction occupies eight years. Pupils within the state are admitted to the school free of charge, and are supplied with all necessaries except clothing. A prominent feature of the institution is its industrial de- partment. The annual cost to the state for each pupil is about $250. Its accommodations are entirely inadequate. The building used for the instruction of the blind, also at Jacksonville, was destroyed by fire in 1869 ; new buildings for purposes of instruction and workshops are in process of construction, with grounds com- prising 18 acres. In 1874 about 70 pupils were receiving instruction from four teachers ; the course of instruction is five years. The charitable eye and ear infirmary, created in 1865, is an efficient institution, affording gra- tuitous medical treatment to all applicants who are citizens of the state. The foundations for a neat, substantial edifice for this institution have been laid in the West Division of Chicago. Provision is made for the insane by the hos- pital at Jacksonville, the northern asylum at Elgin opened in 1872, and the southern asylum at Anna opened in 1873; the two latter are in process of construction. At the close of 1872 the northern asylum had 183 inmates and the southern 75. The hospital at Jack- sonville is constructed on the corridor plan, is five stories high, and comprises a central build- ing with two wings. The accommpdations were intended for about 400 patients, though the average number for two years has been 450. The grounds comprise 160 acres. The whole number of patients admitted since the opening of the hospital in 1851 has been 4,527, of whom 1,685 were discharged recovered, 606 improved, and 400 unimproved; 328 im- proved and unimproved were discharged by order of the trustees, and 467 died. The su- perintendent of this institution estimates the number of insane in the state at 2,529, or 1 in every 1,000 inhabitants. The hospital accom- modations of the state are greatly inadequate to this number. Those under treatment cost the state about $250 a year each. The manner of committing insane persons to the hospital is by jury trial in the county courts. Accord- ing to the state board of public charities, the proportion of idiots in the state is at least as large as that of the insane. The institution for the education of feeble-minded children at Jacksonville was created in 1865, and has accommodations for about 100. Only those whose condition can be improved are admitted. The success of the institution and the impor- tance of providing this kind of instruction have recently led to efforts which will result in largely increased facilities for improving this class of unfortunates. The home for the children of deceased soldiers, at Normal, opened in 1867, comprises three main buildings and 80 acres of land. Here support and instruc- tion are afforded to children of this class under 16 years of age. The average attendance du- ring 1873 was 306, while the number of in- mates at the close of the year was 326. The current expenses for the year amounted to $58,389. Besides supporting this institution, the state has aided the soldiers' college at Fulton and the soldiers' home in Chicago, both of which are private institutions. An efficient system of free schools is provided for all the children of the state, but the constitu- tion prohibits appropriations of public money for sectarian schools. The educational inter- ests of the state are under the general supervi- sion of the superintendent of public instruc- tion. The tax that may be levied in any dis- trict for all current school expenses is limited to 2 per cent, for educational and 3 per cent, for building purposes npon the assessed value of the taxable property of the district. Every district is required to maintain a free school at least five months in the year as a condition of receiving a share of the state school funds. Examinations of teachers are held and certifi- cates issued by the county superintendents, and only teachers having such certificates are em-