Attorney General Opinions

County board member and township assessor

The offices of county board member and township assessor are incompatible, even though there is no constitutional or statutory provision to prohibit the same person from holding both offices. Incompatibility arises when the duties of two offices are such that the holder of one cannot "fully and faithfully" discharge the duties of the other (People ex rel. Myers v. Haas (1908), 145 Ill. App. 283, 286). A county board member acts on the appointment, budget and salary of the county tax assessor, who in turn supervises the township assessor. Since acceptance of an incompatible office by the incumbent of another office is regarded as automatic resignation from the first office, formal resignation or ouster by legal proceedings is not required (File No. 81-021).

Fire protection district trustees

A fire protection district trustee is prohibited from having an interest in a bank which is used as a depository by the fire district, even if the trustee holds less than a 7 1/2 percent interest in the bank. Section 4 of the Fire Protection Districts Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 127 Vi, sec. 24) states that no trustee or employee ot sucn a district shall be "interested financially in any contract work or business . . . which is paid by the district." A deposit of funds in a bank creates a contractual relationship between the institution and the depositor (1973 Ill. Atty. Gen. Op. 45). Although section 3 of the Corrupt Practices Act does allow officeholders to have less than a 7 1/2 percent interest in a financial institution, section 4 of the Fire Protection Districts Act prevails over the general provisions of the Corrupt Practices Act (File No. 81-025).

Cemetery care trust funds

Cemetery care trust funds and the income deriving from them are exempt from taxation under the Illinois Cemetery Care Act (///. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 21, sec. 64.6). But the Illinois Income Tax Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 120, sec. 2-201 (a)) provides that all trusts and their incomes are taxable. The attorney general resolved the apparent conflict by noting that where two statutes treat the same subject, the former, if it is specifically addressed to the subject, prevails over the latter "general" statute, insofar as the two are not "irreconcilably inconsistent." The cemetery care act is a special act, and therefore prevails over the "general" income tax act..

32/January 1982/Illinois Issues