What Was La Grange's Very First Law?

LA GRANGE, IL — La Grange's first ordinances recently resurfaced after having gone missing 135 years ago, thought to be lost in a fire.

The missing ordinances were from 1879 to 1885. So what was La Grange's first one?

It was a poll tax that dealt with an issue that no longer exists.

"Back then, horses and carriages would kick up dust from the dirt road," Mark Truax, president of the La Grange Area Historical Society, told the Village Board this week. "This was not ideal for the clean community that (La Grange founder) F.D. Cossitt had wanted."

Truax continued, "Water and oil needed to be applied to the streets to keep the dust down. Hence, our first ordinance was to declare that every able-bodied male between the ages of 18 and 55 had to labor on the streets two days a year or pay 75 cents a day for each day."

Both days would total $1.50 — or about $40 today.

If such an ordinance passed in 2021, debates would likely rage on Facebook and other social media.

Back then, it was probably a discussion in a church, saloon or other meeting spot.

Truax said he found the first ordinances and village meeting minutes interesting.

"We can see what the issues were back then and how they were managed," Truax said. "There's a ton of great reading in there, where they had wooden sidewalks and the first liquor ordinance. There's an emergency dog ordinance. I'm not sure about that one."