Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1946 [PAGE 343]

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340

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[January 20

versity of Illinois Foundation for the University, but controlled by the latter and used exclusively for public educational purposes, without a view to profit, is exempt from local taxation. We stood on four fundamental concepts, all of which were supported by judicial authority after a careful search through all reports of collected cases in this country, the last of which is summarized above; the Court based its decision on this concept and accepted our legal position on it in toto. The result is to establish as a matter of law an important capacity in which the Foundation may serve the University. No lawyer without wide experience as a practitioner can appreciate the amount of time and labor entailed in preparing, briefing and arguing this case. The whole field of the law directly and indirectly bearing on the four concepts referred to was examined by me personally and literally hundreds of decisions read and abstracted. The case was prepared for trial, tried in and submitted to the County Court while I was on the staff of the University and the University was entitled to my services under my contract. This is, of course, excluded from consideration in the statement which follows. The brief is 81 pages; and the Court in its opinion accepted our position and our authorities as we presented both. The legal set-up for these properties was my creation, and I built it with the thought in mind that sometime someone would be called upon to defend it against attempts to tax the properties. No lawyer, not familiar with the background, the history of the enabling statutes, and the legal documents running into over 100 pages, could have obtained a clear picture of this case and collected and briefed the pertinent authorities without several months of study. The month of August was my vacation, as I informed the President's office. I was advised by the President of the University that it was the wish of the Board that I see the tax case through the Supreme Court; this assignment I accepted and, accordingly, on August 16 began checking the record in the case in anticipation of receipt of the brief. The record was over 80 printed pages, and there were about 40 exhibits in the case, consisting of approximately 200 typewritten pages. Appellant's brief was delivered on or about August 22, 1944. Checking Record and Preparation of Brief, August 16 to September 12, inclusive, 146 hours $2 040 Oral Argument in Supreme Court, September 25 200 Tax Case in County Court, October 18 to 20, inclusive, 10 hours 240 Conferences with University of Illinois Officials and Report to President re Effect of Opinion, November

24, 25, 27 ^ $2 480

I have checked the reasonableness of the foregoing charges with experienced lawyers, both locally and in Chicago, one of these being a former member of the Supreme Court of Illinois; in their opinion the charges are substantially below what they would consider reasonable in the circumstances. I have estimated the value of the service rendered conservatively, and this notwithstanding the fact that the University still owes me my contract salary for the month

of May 1942. SVEINBJORN JOHNSON ASSESSMENT OF UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS FOR GENERAL PROPERTY TAXES

(21) As reported to the Board on November 30, 1944 (Minutes, page 295), the Supreme Court of Illinois in the case of "People of the State of Illinois ex ret. Goodman v. University of Illinois Foundation, etc. No. 28276" affirmed the decision of the Champaign County Court which upheld the objections of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and the Directors of the University of Illinois Foundation to the assessment of the Illini Union Building, Men's Residence Halls, Illini Hall, and the Arcade Building for general property taxes. After this decision the State's Attorney of Champaign County gave notice of intention to file a petition for a rehearing. Since then he has informed the Clerk of the Supreme Court that the petition is withdrawn. So this case is closed.

This report was received for record.