The following image shows the layout of Congressional townships for Cass County. These boundaries do not necessarily coincide with civil districts (i.e., voting precincts and, later, civil townships.)

Changes occurred in the names and boundaries for these precincts over the next several decades.

In 1923, Cass County residents petitioned the County Board to allow an election on the matter of dropping the county commissioner style of government in favor of a township form of government. It wasn't the first time the issue had been raised. It had been voted on 12 times previously in the county's history, but it had always been defeated. When the voters finally approved the change in 1923, Cass County was the last county in Illinois to make the switch.

Today, 85 of Illinois's 102 counties use the township form of government, and 17 counties operate under a county commission. According to researcher Michael D. Sublett, professor emeritus of geology, Illinois State University, township government is a form of "government closest to the people."[1] Townships are governed by an elected board of supervisors and at-large members. Voters also generally elect a township clerk, assessor, road commissioner and justice of the peace. The board acts as the township's legislative body by enacting ordinances, adopting budgets and levying taxes.

New Englanders were well acquainted with the township form of government, and as more of them arrived in the newly settled lands of Cass County in the mid-1800's, they advocated for revisions in state law to permit this style of county government.

Township government came to Illinois with enactment of the 1848 state constitution, followed by legislation in 1849 which provided laws making it possible for counties to drop the commissioner form of government and adopt the township organization. By law, Illinois townships are charged with three basic functions: 1) general assistance for the indigent; 2) the assessment of real property for the basis of local taxation; and 3) maintenance of all roads and bridges outside federal, state, and other local jurisdiction.

Township government has been popular and persistent in rural counties, where it is viewed as being more responsive to local needs and allowing easier access to elected officials.

The commissioner form of government is nevertheless strongly defended in counties where it exists. Cass County was the last holdout in a group of counties in west central Illinois who retained the commissioner form of governance into the 20th century. Nearby counties which continue to operate with county commissioners include Morgan, Menard and Scott counties. Morgan County has voted on the issue a record 17 times and defeated every single one.

Prior to 1923, Cass County voters had rejected township government most recently in 1918. Opponents to the plan argued that adopting township government would reduce the efficiency of delivering public services, delay public improvements, and increase the costs of administering county services (and thus increase taxes).

Despite these arguments, in 1923 Cass County voters called for a vote on the matter for the thirteenth time. What made a township form of government more appealing in 1923 than it had been earlier? Certainly, some residents desired more citizen involvement in decisions affecting them, but dissatisfaction with actions of the county commissioners and the county clerk was a key factor in returning the question to the ballot.

Newspaper accounts from 1923 reveal these matters:

• Voters accused the county commissioners and the county clerk of extravagance in the use of county funds in 1922 and 1923;
• A lack of transparency and poor accounting practices in the board processes left the public in the dark about how tax dollars were being used; and
• Farmers were irked by the disparity in the county's tax assessments on their property, particularly when comparisons were made to assessments elsewhere in the state, city (Beardstown) lots, railroad property, and lucrative hunting properties along the Sangamon.

In response to the property tax complaints, the County Commission declined to act until Farm Bureau representatives raised the issue with the State Tax Commission, and then farm property assessments in Cass County were lowered by ten percent in 1923.

An editorial in the Illinoian-Star pointed to this as evidence of a pending tax increase for city residents should the township plan go through:

The farmers' organization of Cass county sought to have assessed valuations of Beardstown property materially raised. Representatives appeared before the county Board of Review to show that farm land in the county is assessed higher in proportion than Beardstown city lots. The Board of Review did not grant an increase in the assessed valuation in this city, but after the Farm Bureau organization had appeared before the State Tax commission, the county board granted a blanket decrease in farm assessed valuations. [2]

The editorial went on to conclude that the adoption of the township plan, which would result in a board of supervisors "composed largely of farmers, … cannot mean anything but a higher tax rate in Beardstown."

The matter went to the voters on Nov. 6th 1923, and they approved adoption of the township form of government by a wide margin: 3,521 for township organization and 761 against. Beardstown voters voted two to one for township organization, with the Illinoian-Star lamenting that the voter turnout was "unusually light." Only 1,414 votes were cast in the city vs. an estimated population of 4,400 eligible voters in Beardstown at that time. Notably, the success of the 1923 question may have been propelled by women voters, who were not eligible to vote in prior referenda on the question.

In any case, success at the ballot box did not mean an end to opposition to adopting township government. Before township officials could be elected, the county had to draw up a plan for dividing the county into townships. Rumors swirled that the county board (still comprised of three county commissioners) planned to obstruct this process and draw matters out until the voters gave up.

Beardstown and Virginia newspapers fueled the distrust, with both papers peppering their reports with colorful accounts of disagreements among the three men appointed to serve on the Township Dividing Commission: John Broeker, a Beardstown businessman and chairman of the committee; Jeptha Armstrong, a Chandlerville farmer and committee secretary; and J. E. Edwards, and Ashland farmer and president of the county's Farm Bureau.

It was an unenviable task. The Dividing Commission was charged with drawing lines for the township borders in a manner that complied with the state statutes and was acceptable to the citizens. Each township had to contain a minimum of 200 eligible voters, establish a central polling location, and be named in a manner that didn't duplicate a name already in use by another township in the state.[3]

Complicating matters were the usual party politics, farm vs. city factions, and an ongoing rivalry between Beardstown and Virginia which had been simmering for decades. Appointed on December 17th, the commission needed to complete its task before March 1st for approval by the County Board of Commissioners in time for an April 1 election of township officers.

To their credit, though the Dividing Commission could have deliberated behind closed doors, they opted instead to perform their duties at open meetings, inviting county residents to bring their concerns. And they did. Ordinary citizens as well as representatives of the county Farm Bureau and the Taxpayers League attended the sessions and gave their input.

The starting point for the Dividing Commission was an existing map of county precincts. Precincts were considered administrative divisions but without any governing authority in county matters. In dividing the county into the townships, the Dividing Commission could disregard the existing precinct boundaries, but state law strongly encouraged counties to adhere to the survey lines of Congressional townships when feasible.[4]

The commission's first draft, presented in a public meeting on Dec 20th, suggested the creation of eleven townships, tentatively named Indian Creek, Arenzville, Virginia, Philadelphia, Ashland, Oregon, Richmond, Chandlerville, Hickory, Bluff Springs, and Beardstown. This effectively eliminated Princeton and Monroe precincts. New names had to be found for Richmond, Hickory, Oregon and Indian Creek.

John Korsmeyer suggested that Indian Creek township be named Wagner township. R. C. Taylor suggested that Hickory be renamed to Sangamon Valley. J. E. Edwards suggested that Oregon be changed to Sylvan. In their map, Armstrong and Edwards renamed Richmond precinct Watkins township. (In the end, however, while the Sangamon Valley name was applied as suggested, Indian Creek became Hagener township, Oregon was used to create parts of Panther Creek and Newmansville townships, and Watkins became Newmansville township.)[5]

The Jan 9th meeting was contentious. Members Armstrong and Edwards "declared the matter of fixing township lines was too complicated for them to make a final decision without the advice of an attorney." They proposed and passed a motion to hire attorney A.T. Lucas from Chandlerville to advise the board, despite strong objections from Broeker.[6]

A map proposed by Armstrong and Edwards was rejected by chairman Broeker on the grounds that the lines did not follow federal survey township boundaries. They adjourned without agreement but optimistically declared that they would finish their work in a Jan 24th meeting. But that didn't pan out. Armstrong and Edwards proposed only minor alterations in their map – which still did not follow the survey township lines – and Broeker delivered a lengthy statement about state statutes, producing a letter from the Attorney General with interpretations of the law which supported his stance.

The Virginia Republican- Gazette accused the commission chairman, Broeker, of thwarting Armstrong and Edwards's map because he was holding out for creating only ten townships vs. the eleven they proposed. By reducing the number of townships, the paper argued, Broeker was aiming to preserve the influence of Beardstown on a board of supervisors. The commission met again on Jan 29th and adjourned without agreement.[7]

On Feb 4th, commission members Armstrong and Edwards acquiesced to Broeker's insistence to follow survey township boundaries, and they proposed a map which complied with that rule yet created eleven townships. Broeker agreed – according to the Republican-Gazette, "he was not yet aware that the motion made eleven townships instead of the ten he had been fighting for" – and the motion passed.

On Feb 7th, the Dividing Commission submitted the "Harmony Map," as the compromise plan was called, and their final report to the County Board of Commissioners for approval. (A few days later, Dividing Commission member Jeptha Armstrong was sidelined by a mumps outbreak in Chandlerville, and it was a month before he could go out in public again.)

Meanwhile, at a special meeting on Mar 7th, the County Board of Commissioners set the township polling places and named election judges for the Apr 1st election. Those elected took office on Apr 10th, beginning what is – to date – a century of township government in Cass County.

Footnotes:

[1] Michael D. Sublett. Township: Diffusion and Persistence of Grassroots Government in Illinois, 1850-2000. Peter Lang Publishing, 2004.

[2] "Vote 'against' township organization, and vote for Beardstown's best interests," Beardstown Illinoian-Star, 5 Nov 1923.

[3] Despite this prohibition, there are several cases of duplicate township names in the state.

[4] Congressional townships, sometimes also called "survey townships" or "federal townships" are distinct from townships formed as a governmental unit. Congressional (survey) townships were established in Illinois starting in 1804 to establish boundaries for land ownership. One often sees references to survey townships in deeds, e.g. "township 17 north, range 11 west."

[5] "Township division commission examines several witnesses from different sections," Beardstown Illinoian-Star, 11 Jan 1924.

[6] "Stormy session of township commission," Beardstown Illinoian-Star, 10 Jan 1924.

[7] "Final division on U.S. survey gives 11 towns," Virginia Republican-Gazette, 8 Feb 1924.